Verstappen eyes record-breaking 10th straight win in Monza

 

Max Verstappen is hoping to make more records as he heads into the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.

The Red Bull driver could do both at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday as he looks to firmly etch his name in the Formula One record books.

Having equalled Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight victories at the Dutch GP last weekend, Verstappen can break it on the famous Monza track.But the 25-year-old is focused on one sole thing: the victory.

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“I mean, I never thought that I would win nine in a row, first of all,” Verstappen said. “But yeah, now that we are here, of course I’ll try to win 10, but it’s more about that I want to just win.”

Vettel set the consecutive wins record in 2013 with Red Bull during their first dominant era — when he won four straight titles — and Verstappen remembers how astounded he was as a teenager when he saw the German driver achieve that feat.

“I remember when he did it, I said ‘Wow, that’s just a crazy number. I think no one ever will do something like that’,” Verstappen said. “And here we are… but I’m also not really too fixated on it.”

Few would bet on Verstappen bettering that “crazy number” at Monza in a season he is overwhelmingly dominating.

Last weekend’s win increased his huge championship lead to 138 points as he races toward a third straight world title

Verstappen also moved closer to his own F1 record of 15 wins set last year and onto 46 overall already fifth all-time in wins. Alain Prost (51) and Vettel (53) are within his sights with nine races left.

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And people are already talking about Verstappen being considered one of the all-time greats, despite his relatively young age.

“Well, I mean, everyone, of course, has their own opinion about these kind of things,” Verstappen said. “But for me, I’m not  I was never  in F1 to try and prove that I belong in between other people’s names…”

One thing that might play in his rivals’ favour this weekend is that Verstappen has rarely fared well at the Italian Grand Prix although he ended his winless run at Monza last year. Before finally clinching victory at the Temple of Speed, Verstappen had never finished higher than fifth in 2018.

Red Bull have won every race this year but, despite Verstappen looking seemingly invincible, some think the team will struggle at Monza, the fastest track on the calendar

He said: “People are allowed to wish for these kind of things but I think this is going to be a good track for us.”