Italian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen leads, aiming for 10th consecutive victory
Posted : 01 September 2023
Max Verstappen, aiming for a historic 10th consecutive victory, kicked off the Italian Grand Prix weekend impressively. The championship leader led the way in the first practice session at Monza, edging out Ferrari's Carlos Sainz by a mere 0.046 seconds. Following closely behind were their teammates, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc in third and fourth positions.
The top six was completed by Mercedes' George Russell and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. Notably, Alonso was the only driver in this group who opted for medium tires, while the rest went with the hard compound. Lando Norris of McLaren secured the seventh-fastest time, setting his best lap on soft tires. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri, and Alex Albon of Williams rounded out the top ten.
Fernando Alonso had singled out Williams and Ferrari as the two teams likely to shine at Monza. Williams, known for their top speed this season, and Ferrari, with their prowess on circuits featuring long straights and short corners, were expected to be strong competitors for the podium.
Verstappen's dominance continued, with the Dutchman immediately setting the pace upon hitting the track. He arrived at Monza fresh from equaling Sebastian Vettel's record of nine consecutive F1 victories, achieved in 2013. Verstappen has been a force to be reckoned with, winning 11 of the 13 races this season, while Perez claimed the other two.
Although the session was relatively uneventful, Alfa Romeo faced a challenging start to the weekend. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu encountered issues with their anti-stall systems, causing delays. Bottas struggled with an aerodynamic stall issue, initially describing the car as "undriveable," while Zhou experienced high-speed bouncing. After adjustments, both drivers returned to the track, with Bottas feeling improvements. Ultimately, Bottas secured the 15th fastest time, and Zhou finished 20th and last.
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