Max Verstappen is hoping to have a more straightforward win at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, as weather forecast predict a dry race at Monza.
The reigning Formula 1 Champion’s win at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, equaling Sebastian Vettel’s nine consecutive wins record from 2013 was far from being easy, as the unpredictable weather threatened his run of wins and made him work harder to keep it going.
Now the Dutchman is aiming to break Vettel’s record by taking a tenth win on the trot this season, and is headed to Monza laser focused on this target.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Italy to see all the passionate Italian fans,” Verstappen said Red Bull‘s preview of the Italian Grand Prix.
“There’s a lot of motorsport history in the country so it’s always good to race there,” he went on. “Monza is a fast circuit, you achieve very high top speeds, so it’s very different to Zandvoort where we just raced, it’ll be interesting to see how we perform there.
“It will be very important this weekend to generate as much top speed as possible, while looking after the tyres. The weather forecast so far looks dry and it’d be good to have a weekend without rain for a change!
“Coming off nine wins in a row, I hope I can continue the streak, but we’ll find out,” the Red Bull ace concluded.
Verstappen should not be too worried about his RB19’s top speed at Monza, as its trick DRS and rear wing design, along with the solid Honda power unit, have given the Adrian Newey creation a considerable straight-line advantage, only equaled or bettered by Williams’ FW45 which is also quite rapid in a straight line, but simply because it lacks downforce.
Sergio Perez looking to bounce back at Monza
And while Verstappen should be going racing this weekend with confidence of another win, Sergio Perez in the other RB19 will have a tough job of bouncing back after an underwhelming performance in Zandvoort last weekend.
“Zandvoort was super frustrating for me as a race, so Monza is all about getting the podium we deserved last weekend,” Perez said.
“Sometimes the weather and situations go for you and sometimes they don’t, it was unfortunate I picked up the time penalty but there was nothing I could do to prevent that, that’s racing though, you can’t control everything,” he lamented.
“This weekend in Italy I will be looking to control the things I can and have a successful qualifying and race. The Team worked so hard for me on Sunday and our reactions together to the ever-changing conditions shows just how well we all collaborate.
“I feel in a good place with the car, it feels balanced and quick, we have built something really special and I want to show it’s true pace all weekend,” the Mexican concluded.
This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix will be the last F1 race in Europe this season.