Max Verstappen took his 11th victory of the season and fifth in succession as he finished first at Sunday’s Formula One Italian Grand Prix.
The current world champion took a big step towards retaining his crown despite starting in seventh place due to an engine penalty, slicing through the field in the early stages and securing a thoroughly dominant win.
Charles Leclerc started on pole but could only come home in second, while Mercedes’ George Russell was third ahead of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.
The race finished behind the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo’s knit McLaren was unable to be shifted by trackside marshals, leaving disappointed fans booing as cars trundled across the finish line.
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Here are they key things we learned from Monza.
Try as you might, you can’t stop Verstappen and Red Bull
On previous weekends Verstappen and Red Bull have been aided to victory by errors from rival drivers and teams, most notably Charles Leclerc and Ferrari.
On home soil though Ferrari could not have done any more. Their decision to put under an early virtual safety car – which subsequently ended halfway through the stop – may not have worked out for them in the end but staying out and trying to match Verstappen’s strategy would simply have left them in second place anyway.
At least they tried something which made Red Bull think this time, but ultimately they were still unable to get anywhere close to Verstappen, despite being his closest rival.
With the pace they have right now, Verstappen and Red Bull cannot be challenged one bit.
F1 Italian Grand Prix result
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull – 1:20:27.511
2. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – +2.446
3. George Russell – Mercedes – +3.405
4. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari – +5.061
5. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – +5.380
6. Sergio Perez – Red Bull – +6.091
7. Lando Norris – McLaren – +6.207
8th. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri – +6,396
9. Nyck de Vries – Williams – +7.122
10 Guanyuzhou – Alfa Romeo – +7.910
11. Esteban Ocon – Alpine – +8.323
12. Mike Schumacher – Haas – +8,549
13. Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo – +1 lap
14 Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – +1 lap
15 Nicholas Latifi – Williams – +1 lap
16 Kevin Magussen – Haas – +1 lap
17 Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren – DNF
18 Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – DNF
19 Fernando Alonso – Alpine-DNF
20 Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin – DNF
De Vries deserves a 2023 race seat
On Friday Nyck de Vries was driving for Aston Martin in practice, on Saturday he was drinking coffee in the Mercedes motorhome, and by Sunday evening he had scored two points on his Formula One debut racing for Williams.
The 27-year-old was called up by the backmarkers to replace regular driver Alex Albon, undergoing surgery in Italy due to appendicitis, and he delivered a stunning performance to start the race in eighth and hold on to points by finishing ninth.
De Vries equaling Williams’ best result of the season while completely trouncing woeful team-mate Nicholas Latifi is testament to the fact that the 2019 Formula 2 champion should be in a full-time race seat already.
His display was full of patience, great timing and sheer speed, and if there is any justice Williams will employ him permanently alongside Albon in 2023.
F1 2022 drivers’ standings
- Max Verstappen – 335
- Charles Leclerc – 219
- Sergio Perez – 210
- George Russell-203
- Carlos Sainz-187
- Lewis Hamilton—168
- Lando Norris – 88
- Esteban Ocon-66
- Fernando Alonso-59
- Valtteri Bottas – 46
- Kevin Magnussen – 22
- Pierre Gasly – 22
- Sebastian Vettel – 20
- Daniel Ricciardo – 19
- Mick Schumacher – 12
- Yuki Tsunoda – 11
- Zhou Guanyu – 6th
- Lance Stroll – 5
- Alex Albon – 4
- Nyck de Vries – 2
- Nicholas Latifi – 0
- Nico Hulkenberg – 0
Red flags should replace safety cars in final stages
Races which finish behind the safety car are mercifully very rare in F1, the last coming at Bahrain in 2020.
The idea that a competitive race can finish in a procession behind a road car leaves a sour taste with many, but in truth the FIA followed the rule book to a tee at Monza. Once marshals were unable to push Ricciardo’s car away, the McLaren seemed stuck in gear and refusing to budget, there was not enough time to have the cherrypicker arrive in order to lift it away while also having the cars line up in running order.
This, strictly speaking, is what should have happened in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year, when former race director Michael Masi instead went rogue and essentially gifted the title to Verstappen by offering up one final lap of racing without the cars closed up together in order.
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The Monza finish may have been more legitimate, then, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily the right approach. F1, the FIA and its race directors should consider employing the red flag in instances where a race is likely to finish behind the safety car.
It would neutralize the race, bringing everybody into the pits while an accident or breakdown is cleared, before all of the remaining cars get going again for the final few laps on fresh tires. To avoid a standing start potentially punishing some drivers after a long race, the safety car could then be used prior to a rolling start.
F1 2022 constructors’ standings
- Red Bull-545
- Ferrari-406
- Mercedes-371
- Alpine-125
- McLaren-107
- Alfa Romeo – 52
- Hass – 34
- AlphaTauri – 33
- Aston Martin – 25th
- Williams – 6th
This solution would mean that 1) accidents and breakdowns can be safely cleared by marshals with no other cars on the track, 2) spectators are guaranteed racing right up until the finish line, and 3) everybody has the opportunity to drive on fresh tires to the end.
Critics may think that plan is too gimmicky, but is it really more of a gimmick than things like DRS or sprint races?
