In the 16th leg of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Italian Grand Prix, the Dutch driver of the Red Bull team, Max Verstappen, came first.
The 16th challenge of the season was held on the 5.7 kilometer track with the same name as Monza, over 53 laps.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in pole position maintained his lead at the start. Championship leader Max Verstappen, who started the race from the 7th pocket, rose to the 2nd place in the 5th lap.
Leclerc in first place made a “pit stop” during the virtual safety car application, which was activated after Sebastian Vettel’s (Aston Martin) car malfunctioned on lap 12. Verstappen, who preferred to stay on the track, took the lead and George Russell (Mercedes) took the 2nd place.
Making his first “pit stop” on lap 26, Verstappen returned to the fight in 2nd place, 10 seconds behind Leclerc.
Leclerc, who switched to soft rubber tires with 20 laps left, could not close the gap as he hoped and could not get closer to the leader Verstappen more than 16 seconds.
Leclerc was hopeful as the safety car entered the track after Daniel Ricciardo’s (McLaren) car failed on lap 47. However, as the track could not be cleared in the remaining laps, the race ended with a safety car.
Verstappen thus became the 5th race winner in a row, the 11th race of the season and the 31st race winner of his career. Leclerc was 2nd and Russell 3rd.
Increasing his score to 335, the leader of the drivers’ classification, Verstappen, increased the gap with his closest follower Leclerc to 116 points.
The 17th race of the season, the Singapore Grand Prix, will be held on 2 October.
After the Italian Grand Prix, the top 5 places of the drivers and teams classification were as follows:
pilots
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 335 points
2. Charles Leclerc (Monaco): 219
3. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 210
4. George Russell (Great Britain): 203
5. Carlos Sainz (Spain): 187
Teams
1. Red Bull: 545
2. Ferrari: 406
3. Mercedes: 371
4. Alpine: 125
5. McLaren: 107