Yahoo Autos F1 Italian GP Winner Max Verstappen Chasing History with 11th Win of the Season
Max Verstappen made it five Formula 1 race wins in a row and 11 for the season with victory in the F1 Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at Monza.
Autoweek rounds up the main talking points from the F1 race day:
Verstappen’s Title Cruise Continues
It is now mathematically possible that Verstappen can clinch his second world title at the next race on the schedule, October 2 at Singapore.
That should be little surprise, given Verstappen stretched his advantage to 116 points after a fifth successive victory, and 11th of the season, at Monza. Verstappen started Sunday's only seventh after an engine penalty. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, race-runner-up in Italy and second in the points standings, was on the pole.
Verstappen made his way to fourth on the first lap, and that quickly became third when he passed Daniel Ricciardo. George Russell was easy pickings for second.
Ferrari’s response to a Virtual Safety Car period caused by Sebastian Vettel’s stoppage committed them to a two-stop strategy with initial leader Leclerc, but Verstappen stayed out and ran the usual—and faster—one-stop approach. From there the die was cast, leaving Verstappen first and Leclerc second.
Ricciardo’s stoppage prompted a Safety Car that promised a mad dash to the line but, unlike on past occasions, the FIA followed the regulations to the letter and there was insufficient time for a true restart.
There was a lot of booing and jeering for Verstappen as he appeared on the podium (little surprise given it was Ferrari’s home race) and the crowd’s chants for Leclerc almost drowned out the anthems. But that was water off a duck’s back for Verstappen as title two moves into view.
No Restart a Shame—But That's the Rule
The Italian Grand Prix was not a thriller and the late Safety Car period promised a tantalizing late shootout, but it never materialized.
Daniel Ricciardo’s stricken car, in an awkward position on the track, became stuck in gear while marshals attempted to remove it. That meant a tractor was needed, which could only be deployed once the field had bunched behind the Safety Car.
Eventually the track was clear on for Lap 52 of the 53-lap race. Per the regulations, the ‘Safety Car in this lap’ message can only be issued the following time around. In effect, it was bad timing, but the regulations were followed.
In a statement, the FIA outlined that ‘as the safety of the recovery operation is our only priority, and the incident was not significant enough to require a red flag, the race ended under safety car following the procedures agreed between the FIA and all competitors.’ It was further stressed that ‘The timing of the safety car period within a race has no bearing on this procedure’.
Essentially, the regulations were followed, and the FIA will always prioritise safety over entertainment – as it should be. The issue, for a sport that is entertainment, is that it creates a huge anti-climax in the (albeit rare) occasion that a race finishes behind the Safety Car.
“There are rules and they are written down and from my perspective, whether I’m Abu Dhabi traumatized or not, these rules have been followed to the dot today,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “There was a car out on track, there was marshals, and a crane out there. That's why they didn't let anybody overtake. And then it was not enough time to restart the race once all cars crashed out.
"So if one is not happy with the regulations, and you want to have a big bang show and two laps of racing and mayhem, I think I'm absolutely up for it. But then we need to change the regulations.”
