Max Verstappen is back in the formula 1 headlines for the right reasons: setting records! First, he set the fastest pole in the history of Formula One with a time of 1:18.792. Then he moved on to win his third first place trophy at Monza. His win is the first win from pole since 2019. Finally, he led the fastest race in Formula One history. The race was over in just 73 minutes.
Red Bull decided to listen to Max on his car set up this week. Verstappen requested less down force on the car, and Red Bull delivered. Monza is a highspeed low drag track with long straight aways. Additionally, several of Monza’s turns are low speed. A car can get up to 200 miles per hour (mph) on a straight and must brake as low as 100 mph to negotiate the turn. Today, Verstappen excelled at breaking, accelerating and holding top speed.
McLaren experienced the same struggles at Monza this year as last year. Their car is built to take highspeed corners. They seem to struggle with breaking into low-speed corners and accelerating out of them. Verstappen took advantage of this with his car set up.
The start of the race was entertaining. As the grid headed down into the first chicane, Lando Norris decided to cut some grass with his right-side tires. As they made the first turn it appeared Norris pushed Verstappen into the runoff area. Norris held his line off the apex giving Verstappen no room to maneuver. Verstappen held his lead until the team told him to “give the place back”. It is unclear if he would have been penalized, but nonetheless, Verstappen obeyed team orders and no further investigation as warranted.
Max Verstappen overtook Norris during lap 7 at the first chicane and never looked back. He began to steadily build a lead on the McLarens. By lap 22, Verstappen was over six seconds ahead of the McLarens. By race end, he finished a whopping 19 seconds against them.
Oscar Piastri struggled a bit today. Charles Leclerc managed to steal a position from him on lap two, until Piastri overtook him during lap six. Then, towards the end of the race, Lando Norris had a slow stop due to a jammed wheel gun. When Norris came out behind, Piastri, McLaren ordered Piastri to allow Norris around him. Everyone says it was the fair thing to do, but it cost Piastri valuable points in the driver’s championship.
Overall, this was a fun race to watch. You could tell this race was important to Max Verstappen. This is Laurent Mekies first victory for Red Bull as team principal. Verstappen has experienced some important miles stones this year. First, he has become a father. Second, he lost his long-time boss, Christian Horner, who led the team to 8 drivers’ championships. It is important for Max to win without Horner. It’s like Tom Brady winning without Bill Belichick. Verstappen’s role in the win, could be indicative of future success for this year as well as next season.
