Mad Max

Monza, Italy (AFP) — Max Verstappen won an Italian Grand Prix typically full of drama and incident, with record-breaking speed and nearly another setback for the unfortunate Lando Norris.

Monza fully lived up to its rapid reputation over the weekend, with Sunday’s race the fastest ever in the history of F1, with Verstappen taking the chequered flag in one hour, 13 minutes, and 24.325 seconds.

Nicknamed the “Temple of Speed,” Monza was the scene of two significant records being broken, with Verstappen also clocking the fastest ever lap in the final seconds of qualifying on Saturday.

What was even more astonishing is that just moments before, Lando Norris looked to have snatched pole with a lap which would also have been an all-time record had Verstappen not then beaten it.

Verstappen put on an F1 clinic as he attacked Monza with a series of rapid laps and bold maneuvers, which showed why he has won the last four drivers’ championships.

The 27-year-old had the better of second-placed Lando Norris in the record-breaking qualifying session and then showed bravery and skill with the daring overtake on lap four, which decided Sunday’s race.

He ended up finishing over 19 seconds ahead of Norris but was keen to downplay the chances of similarly dominant displays in the final eight races of the campaign.

“So it’s not like suddenly now we’re back, you know, it’s not like we can fight them (McLaren) every single week,” Verstappen told reporters.

“But the positive is that we seem to understand a little bit more what we need to do with the car to be more competitive. So I hope that this carries on into the coming rounds as well.”

Verstappen still trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 94 points, but he reminded everyone in F1 of what a ferocious competitor he is.

Lando Norris cut McLaren teammate Piastri’s lead at the top of the drivers’ standings to 31 points, but he almost ended up falling further behind after a disastrous pit stop in the final few laps looked like it would cost him second place.

Briton Norris, who was forced out of the race at Zandvoort with a late mechanical problem, was in second when, after entering the box he was kept too long due to a fault with a wheel gun, allowing Piastri to overtake.

With Verstappen flying up the road and heading to certain victory, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella then ordered a position swap, which he told reporters was within “the racing values that we have in mind.”