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Lando Norris could leave McLaren at the end of the season with Nico Rosberg hinting that there is a “switch coming” for the British driver. Norris is currently in the midst of his fifth F1 season with McLaren and has a contract with the Woking-based team until the end of the 2025 campaign. However, the 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Red Bull to partner close friend Max Verstappen – with Norris admitting he would “love the opportunity” to be team-mates with the Dutchman down the line. Verstappen has echoed Norris’ thoughts and Rosberg hinted Norris could depart McLaren at the end of the season, saying on Sky F1: “Where’s he [Norris] going? Next year already. I hear there’s a switch coming.” Despite this, Norris has publicly reiterated his commitment to McLaren, especially following a mid-season revival in the last few months, while Verstappen’s current team-mate Sergio Perez has a deal with Red Bull until the end of 2024. Verstappen said of the potential link-up with Norris: “We’ll talk about it. But his contract to McLaren [is] for a long time. We’ll see what happens in the future.” McLaren CEO Zak Brown, however, is focused on a future with Norris firmly at the papaya. “He loves McLaren, it’s been his family, so there’s no doubt in my mind that his number one choice is to win a world championship with McLaren,” Brown said. “I think the best thing we do to retain him is to demonstrate to him we’re a team capable of doing that. It’s not a case of wooing him or not wooing him, it’s about giving him a car where he can look himself in the mirror and say ‘I think I can win a world championship with this team’. "We’ve got our team in place. It’s stable. We have additional talent coming to be additive to what we currently have. We have all the financial resources we need. It’s just going to take a little bit of time so as long as we can show this progress.” Norris has been on the podium eight times in his F1 career, most recently in Hungary in July, but is still waiting for his first race victory. Read More Toto Wolff slams ‘moaning’ across F1 grid after Lewis Hamilton apology Alex Albon, James Vowles and the start of a Williams renaissance Lewis Hamilton shows vital statement of intent with Max Verstappen dig Toto Wolff slams ‘moaning’ across F1 grid after Lewis Hamilton apology FIA announce results of 2022 F1 cost cap process F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Singapore Grand Prix?

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton bucked the trend by apologising after an incident in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, insisting the rest of the F1 grid “complains and moans to try and not get a penalty.” Hamilton admitted he was at fault for a collision with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Monza – he received a five-second time penalty as a result – and apologised to the Australian after the race. Wolff, who stated that Max Verstappen’s 10th win in a row was “completely irrelevant”, concurred with Hamilton’s analysis and made a sharp dig at the rest of the field in the process. “Lewis is very sportsmanlike with these things – and he is the only one that I see out there admitting, saying that he’s wrong,” Wolff told media after the race. “We just had a chat and he said ‘I didn’t see him on the right and that is on me’. And I think that kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him. “Pretty much everyone else is complaining and moaning just to try to not get a penalty. “These things happen. It was hard racing to overtake here and we’ve seen a few of these. It [the penalty] was justified.” Ultimately, the penalty had no impact on Hamilton who finished sixth, while the clash cost Piastri a top-10 finish after he had to pit for a new front nose, dropping him down the order. He finished 12th. Hamilton said: “I misjudged the gap I had with Piastri right at the end. It was totally my fault. “I apologised to him straight afterwards and we move on.” Piastri, though disappointed with the race-impacting clash, seemed satisfied with Hamilton’s apology. “He creeped over a bit more than he thought,” Piastri said. “The stewards gave their verdict and Lewis apologised and nothing more I can ask for or do at that point.” Hamilton’s team-mate, George Russell, finished fifth in an indifferent weekend for Mercedes in Monza after the pair signed new contracts until the end of the 2025 season. Read More FIA reveal results of 2022 F1 cost cap process Toto Wolff blunt in response to Max Verstappen’s ‘irrelevant’ record Alex Albon, James Vowles and the start of a Williams renaissance FIA announce results of 2022 F1 cost cap process F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Singapore Grand Prix? Damon Hill unimpressed by Toto Wolff’s dismissal of Max Verstappen’s record win

The FIA have announced that all 10 Formula 1 teams have complied with the cost cap in 2022 – meaning no repeat of the shenanigans which overshadowed the latter stages of last season. Red Bull were found guilty of an overspend of the 2021 budget cap, the same year in which Max Verstappen claimed his first drivers’ title. Christian Horner’s team were fined £6m and docked 10 per cent of their car development time after a long, drawn-out process. Yet this year, the FIA have confirmed that no teams have fallen foul of the financial regulations and detailed that their analysis included an “extensive check of any non-F1 activities... which comprised of multiple on-site visits to team facilities.” The news will come as a relief to all teams, particularly in light of rising inflation and freight costs which led Horner to suggest earlier this year that as many as six teams could’ve broken the cost cap. The statement in full reads: “The FIA confirms that its Cost Cap Administration has now completed the review of the Reporting Documentation submitted by each Competitor that participated in the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship in respect of the 2022 Full Year Reporting Period ending on 31 December 2022. “The FIA Cost Cap Administration has issued certificates of compliance to all of the ten Competitors. “The review has been an intensive and thorough process, beginning with a detailed analysis of the documentation submitted by the competitors. “Additionally, there has been an extensive check of any non-F1 activities undertaken by the teams, which comprised multiple on-site visits to team facilities and careful auditing procedures to assess compliance with the Financial Regulations. “The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process. “The FIA also notes that the Financial Regulations are essential to the long-term financial stability of the sport, and that they will continue to be developed and refined based on the findings of each review process both in terms of the regulations themselves, which are written and approved under the FIA Formula 1 governance process, and the way in which they are enforced and policed. “The FIA has made and will continue to make significant investments in this department for the collective benefit of the sport.” Read More F1 2023 race schedule: When is the Singapore Grand Prix? Damon Hill unimpressed by Toto Wolff’s dismissal of Max Verstappen’s record win Alex Albon, James Vowles and the start of a Williams renaissance

Alex Albon has a habit of leaving no stone unturned. Another victim of Red Bull’s brutal driver merry-go-round in 2021, dropped as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for Sergio Perez, the British-Thai driver was desperate for a race seat for 2022. Aware of George Russell’s impending move to Mercedes, Albon approached then-Williams CEO Jost Capito with a list of resources: a CV and an Excel spreadsheet, comparing his superior lap times to his rivals. Suitably impressed by both his determination and statistics, a deal was agreed. “Albono” was back on the grid. So to now, and the rebirth of the 27-year-old at a team rejuvenated. Albon has carved out 21 points in the first 14 races of this season at a team who managed only 39 points from 2018-2022. A five-year period where they were bottom of the pile, the wooden spoon holders, in four of those five years. Sunday’s seventh-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix was Albon’s best performance yet for Williams, more impressive than an identical result in Montreal in June. A display of crisp driving to qualify sixth on Saturday was coupled with dogged defensive work lap after lap on Sunday, even with his tyres dropping off in the final stages in Monza. Though the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull of Sergio Perez had too much pace, Albon had the McLarens on his gearbox for most of the afternoon. But using exquisite car placement and intimate driver nous, that’s exactly where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stayed. First to acknowledge Albon’s display was Williams team principal James Vowles, whose influence on this team in his first six months cannot be overstated. Arriving after years of success and experience as Mercedes’ chief strategist, the highly astute 44-year-old was ready to step out of Toto Wolff’s shadow. Tasked with rebuilding a team whose level and morale was rock bottom – the years of title triumphs under Sir Frank Williams in the 1990s a very distant memory now – Vowles was under no illusions to the scale of the challenge. “The main thing is this: what I want to see is positive progress and it won’t be weeks or months, it will be more than that – it’s on a years [long] timescale,” Vowles said, back in March. “There are no short-term solutions, everything is long-term.” Yet if this is what short-term progress looks like, how far can Vowles take this sleeping giant of the sport in the long-term? Williams are currently seventh in the constructors’ standings and a clear seventh at that, leapfrogging Alfa Romeo, Haas and AlphaTauri this season. In Albon, they have a driver who is flourishing as a clear No 1 in the garage. And in Vowles they have an experienced head whose obsession with F1 means, much like his driver, every ounce of effort and second of lap-time will be eked out to the maximum. For example, he was attuned to McLaren’s “dummy” pit-stop late in the day at Monza, with the papaya even shuffling out their mechanics in an attempt to trigger Williams to pit Albon instead. Vowles, who has seen such moves numerous times in his 12 years at Mercedes, could not help but laugh about it afterwards. He also stole a march on Alpine – next up the road, sixth in the standings – by poaching Pat Fry in July to be Williams’ new Chief Technical Officer. The straight-line speed of the FW45 has contributed to top-10 finishes in Bahrain, Silverstone and Zandvoort this year. Even Lewis Hamilton was bemoaning Williams’ pace in qualifying on Saturday – who could have predicted that a few years back? There are still issues to solve, the most prescient their second seat currently occupied by Logan Sargeant. Albon’s sturdy points-tally is in stark contrast to the American rookie, languishing at the bottom of the standings. Point-less after 14 races, another glimpse of a top-10 finish went astray for Sargeant on Sunday. Speculation is rife that Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher could be thrust into the seat for 2024. Sargeant has eight races left, including two in the US, to prove his worth to Vowles and keep a seat which will be highly sought after if Williams continue in the same direction. Race wins and championships are still some way off. The tally of nine constructors’ crowns and seven drivers’ titles will not change anytime soon. But the gradual renaissance of one of Formula 1’s staple teams – who celebrated their 800th grand prix earlier this year – is one of 2023’s feel-good sub-plots in a season dominated by Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Albon has committed until at least the end of 2024 and is likely to extend further should the top-dogs not come calling. Vowles is, quite clearly, in it for the long-haul. How quick the ascension can arrive remains unclear in the unrelenting arms race that is F1, but both driver and team principal have reinvigorated all personnel in the famed dark blue kit both in the pit-lane and back at base in Oxfordshire. What’s more, neither want to seal the sole limelight. There is no room for overinflated ego. Is this an Alex Albon story? Is it a James Vowles story? What is abundantly clear is that it is a bit of both. Read More The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over shrewd Williams Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz chases down thieves and recovers £500,000 watch in scary Milan incident ‘Box to overtake’: The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over Williams ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix

Damon Hill has described Toto Wolff’s dismissal of Max Verstappen’s record winning streak as “churlish” and “ungracious”. Red Bull’s Verstappen became the first driver in Formula One’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races following his triumph at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. But moments after Verstappen drove into the record books, Mercedes team principal Wolff called the Dutchman’s unprecedented run of victories “completely irrelevant”. He added that the record was only “for Wikipedia, and nobody reads that anyway”. Responding to Wolff’s unflattering appraisal, 1996 world champion Hill said: “It sounded a bit churlish and not very gracious. “It’s unlike Toto because he’s usually very sporting. But he is hurting a bit now. They know what it is like to be dominant and they didn’t even get on the podium in Monza. “They seem to be a bit stymied and can’t seem to work out what to do. But who can? It seems like everywhere we go, Red Bull has got the upper hand.” George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line a distant fifth and sixth respectively for Mercedes at Monza’s Cathedral of Speed. Hamilton, who was hit with a five-second penalty for colliding with Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, finished 42 sec behind Verstappen. The seven-time world champion, who last week committed to a new two-year deal with Mercedes, worth £100million, has now gone 37 races without a victory. For Verstappen, now a victor at 12 of the 14 rounds so far, he has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, 127 days ago. There is an outside chance he could wrap up a hat-trick of titles in Japan on September 24 with six rounds still to race. Verstappen’s Red Bull team also remain on course to make history by going the year unbeaten. Speaking on Sky Sports News, Hill, 62, continued: “Max has achieved something no-one else has ever done. “Red Bull have won 14 races this year and it is an incredible record, but you can’t just put it down to the car. “This guy is special. Throughout Max’s career, from the moment he arrived in F1, he has done things no-one has done before and he continues to polish off this season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins

Carlos Sainz chased down thieves and retrieved his watch worth £500,000 in a scary robbery incident in Milan just hours after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari star Sainz, still in his team kit, was targeted near the Armani hotel in central Milan at around 8:30pm on Sunday evening, reports in Italy detail. Sainz, alongside members of his entourage and the public, then chased the thieves and successfully recovered his Richard Mille watch worth in the region of £500,000. Local police have arrested two suspects. The unsavoury incident is a sour end to a largely encouraging weekend for Sainz – who was on pole after a storming performance in qualifying on Saturday – as the Spaniard was on the podium for the first time this season. Spaniard driver Sainz, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday, finished Sunday’s race on the podium in third place, with Max Verstappen victorious at Monza. It is not the first occasion an F1 driver has been targeted by thieves: Lando Norris had a £144,000 watch stolen outside Wembley following the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England in July 2021. Norris was also robbed whilst with friends in Marbella earlier this year. Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc has also had a Richard Mille watch stolen, in the Italian resort of Viareggio last year. Read More Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over shrewd Williams Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix

Williams boss James Vowles was alert and sharp to McLaren’s amusing attempt at subterfuge during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Alex Albon, who has been a revelation at Williams this year, was valiantly defending sixth position from McLaren’s Lando Norris, positioning his car perfectly to maintain his place in the order. Yet McLaren, desperate to pass Albon with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rapidly chasing behind, tried something different: a ‘dummy’ pit-stop. “Box to overtake,” McLaren told Norris over the team radio, with the British driver responding: “Yeah I’m pushing confirm.” The papaya team even sent their mechanics into the pit-lane, looking as though they were going to bizarrely pit their driver. But Williams – and the experienced former Mercedes chief Vowles – were wily and shrewd to the situation, aware that McLaren were merely dummying in an attempt to try and force Williams to pit Albon. “Heard their dummy and saw their pit lane, I thought ‘if they want to stop they can stop, but I’m not!’” Vowles told Sky F1 afterwards. “From McLaren’s perspective and Mercedes’ and Alonso, just one foot wrong and all three would’ve got through. We were very concerned about them. “What saved us was our straight-line speed [today]. We were six or seven kph up on theirs, it was just enough that they couldn’t get through. “We make it look easy, at least Alex does. Alex did a sterling job. We don’t quite have that race-pace but we have a driver out there who can get his elbows out and fight for points. That’s what he did today, he did a sterling job. “Again not a foot wrong. Seventh is just reward, the car pace was slightly behind that but he shone relative to that.” Ultimately, neither Albon nor Norris could keep Hamilton behind, with the seven-time world champion finishing sixth. Albon finished seventh – for another impressive six points for Williams – while Norris came home a place behind in eighth. Max Verstappen won the race – a record-breaking 10th in a row – with Sergio Perez second and Carlos Sainz third. Read More Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix F1 Italian Grand Prix LIVE: Race results and reaction as Verstappen wins at Monza

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Oscar Piastri after he admitted he was “totally at fault” for his collision with the McLaren rookie in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for the coming together at the Variante della Roggia as the two drivers duelled for eighth on lap 41 of 51 in Monza. Hamilton improved to sixth and was able to pull out a seven-second margin on Williams’ Alex Albon to ensure the sanction had no impact on his result. However, Piastri, 22, suffered front-wing damage and was forced to stop for repairs, dropping him out of the points. “He just turned across me under braking,” said Piastri on the radio. Hamilton, who was also hit with two penalty points on his driver’s licence, doubling his total to four, went over to Piastri to concede his error at the chequered flag. “It was totally my fault,” said Hamilton, 38. “It actually wasn’t intentional. I went and apologised to him straight afterwards. “I got up alongside him and just misjudged the gap I had to the right and clipped him. It could happen at any time. “I knew shortly afterwards it must have been my fault and I wanted to make sure he knew it wasn’t intentional. That’s what gentleman do.” Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had no complaints with the stewards’ verdict and praised his superstar driver for taking accountability. “That was Lewis’ mistake,” said Wolff. “I think a five-second penalty for that is what the menu says. These things happen, you know. It’s hard racing and we’ve seen a few of these. It’s justifiable. “Lewis is very sportsmanlike on these things. And he is the only one that I see out there admitting things that he did wrong. “We just had a chat and he said ‘I didn’t see him on the right and that is on me.’ And I think that kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him. Pretty much everyone else is complaining and moaning to try to avoid getting a penalty.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen’s 10 wins in a row ‘irrelevant’ says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called Max Verstappen’s drive into the Formula One record books at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix “completely irrelevant”. Verstappen went behind enemy lines in Ferrari’s backyard to fight his way past Carlos Sainz’s scarlet car and become the first driver in the sport’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races. The Dutchman, now a victor at 12 of the 14 rounds so far, bettered the record he had shared with Sebastian Vettel. Verstappen has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, 126 days ago. Sergio Perez finished runner-up as Red Bull – who remain unbeaten this season – claimed a one-two finish, with pole-sitter Sainz third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth for Mercedes. Hamilton’s Mercedes machinery carried him to six world championships in seven seasons, but the British driver was never able to win more than five successive races. The best Michael Schumacher, so dominant in his Ferrari at the turn of the century, could manage was seven. Yet, despite Verstappen’s historic streak, Wolff found it difficult to express praise for Red Bull’s star man. “For me, these kinds of records are completely irrelevant,” he said. “They were irrelevant in our good days in Mercedes. “I don’t know how many races we won in a row. I didn’t even know that there was a count of how many wins in a row, so if you are asking me to comment on the achievement it is difficult, because it never played a role in my own life until I heard about it yesterday. “The result itself shows a great driver in a great car, who are competing on an extremely high level.” Wolff’s lacklustre appraisal came after Hamilton devalued the strength of Verstappen’s team-mates in an interview on Italian television on Thursday. Verstappen responded in the Dutch media by suggesting Hamilton was “jealous” of his current success. Hamilton was then asked about Verstappen’s record-breaking run after Sunday’s 51-lap race. “I had strong team-mates,” he replied. “Valtteri (Bottas) was quick a lot of times. I don’t care about statistics in general. Good for him.” Since he claimed his maiden title at the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi race in 2021 – denying Hamilton a record eighth championship – Verstappen has won 27 of the 36 races staged. In his last 25 appearances, Verstappen has failed to win just four times. “What Max is doing is breaking records and driving at an unbelievable level,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “I don’t think there is anybody in the world at the moment that can beat Max Verstappen in this car, that’s for sure. “You have to recognise and applaud what Max is doing. It is very special to achieve what he has achieved and we shouldn’t detract from that in any way. “In sport it is very rare that something like this happens and it is a golden moment for him and certainly a golden moment for the team.” Verstappen was made to wait 14 laps and a handful of corners before he assumed the lead of Sunday’s race at the Variante della Roggia. From there, he never looked back to seal another crushing win and move 145 points clear in the standings. There remains an outside chance he could be crowned champion of the world for a third time as early as the Japanese Grand Prix in three weeks with half-a-dozen rounds still remaining. “I never would have believed that it was possible,” said Verstappen after his record triumph. “But we had to work for it today and that definitely made it a lot more fun.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was at fault for the collision with Oscar Piastri in the latter stages of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix and has apologised to the Australian driver. Hamilton and Piastri were fighting for eighth position on lap 41 of the 51-lap race and, coming out of the Curva Grande, the two cars were side-by-side and touched with the Mercedes squeezing the McLaren on the outside and both having to take to the escape road. It was an incident which ruined Piastri’s race, having to pit for a new front nose and dropping outside the top-10, with Hamilton promptly receiving a five-second penalty from the stewards. Ultimately, the penalty did not impact Hamilton – who finished sixth – while Piastri finished 12th. “I misjudged the gap I had with Piastri right at the end,” Hamilton said. “It was totally my fault. “I apologised to him straight afterwards and we move on.” Piastri, though disappointed with the race-impacting clash, seemed satisfied with Hamilton’s apology. “He creeped over a bit more than he thought,” Piastri said. “The stewards gave their verdict and Lewis apologised and nothing more I can ask for or do at that point.” Max Verstappen won a record-breaking 10th race in a row in another Red Bull one-two victory, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz holding off his team-mate for the final podium place.

Max Verstappen drove his way into the Formula One history books by taking his 10th-consecutive victory at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. Verstappen sat behind Carlos Sainz for 14 of the 51 laps at Monza’s Temple of Speed before fighting his way past the Ferrari pole-sitter at the second chicane. From there, the commanding Dutchman never looked back to better the mark he shared with Sebastian Vettel and become the first driver in Formula One to reach double figures for straight victories. Sergio Perez finished second in the other Red Bull, while Sainz held off team-mate Charles Leclerc in a tantalising late battle between the Ferrari drivers to take the final spot on the podium. George Russell finished fifth with Lewis Hamilton, who served a five-second penalty for colliding with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, sixth. “That is history,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to his superstar driver. “Unbelievable.” Verstappen’s 12th win from the 14 rounds so far moves him 145 points clear in the championship. Unbeaten since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, there remains an outside chance the 25-year-old could be crowned champion of the world for a third time as early as the Japanese Grand Prix in three weeks with half-a-dozen rounds still remaining. Sainz lit up Ferrari’s home track by taking pole position and kept the dream alive of a victory in front of the Italian team’s 80,000-strong crowd by holding off Verstappen on the 500-metre drag to the opening Variante del Rettifilo. Verstappen was the filling in a Ferrari sandwich with Leclerc maintaining third spot ahead of Mercedes’ Russell and Perez. Hamilton started eighth but dropped one position on the first lap. Such has been the superiority of Verstappen’s Red Bull machine this year, Sainz was expected to be easy prey for the all-conquering Dutchman. But to Verstappen’s surprise, Sainz was not prepared to make life easy for the double world champion. On lap six, Verstappen was handed his first opportunity, drawing alongside Sainz on the 220mph run to the first chicane, only for the Spaniard to slam the door in his face. “That was naughty,” said Verstappen. Three laps later, Verstappen was back on the intercom. “They have a lot of top speed, for f*** sake,” he said. Further back and Russell’s mirrors were occupied by the other Red Bull of Perez. Asked to manage his rubber, the Englishman replied: “I don’t know if you can see, but I have got a car right up my a***.” Up front and Verstappen sensed another chance to take the lead on lap 15. A defensive Sainz locked up at the Variante del Rettifilo, handing Verstappen the exit speed on the 200mph charge to the Variante della Roggia. The Red Bull and Ferrari machines were separated by mere centimetres as they went toe-to-toe into the second chicane before Verstappen, benefiting from the inside line, emerged in the lead. Remarkably, Sainz’s 14 laps in the lead was the highest in any event this season by a non-Red Bull driver. The team from Milton Keynes could yet become the first team to go an entire campaign unbeaten with eight races to run. On lap 16, Perez moved up to fourth with Russell – struggling for top-line speed in his Mercedes – unable to keep the Red Bull behind. With Verstappen cruising imperiously to victory, Perez moved up third after seeing off Leclerc. The Mexican set about passing Sainz, and, after a number of failed attempts, he finally blasted past the Ferrari with five laps remaining to ensure a one-two for Red Bull. After emerging from his tyre stop in 10th, Hamilton moved ahead of Fernando Alonso before banging wheels with Piastri in the battle for eighth. Hamilton was hit with a penalty for the incident at the Variante della Roggia as Piastri pitted for a new front wing. “He just turned across me under braking,” bemoaned the Australian rookie. Undeterred by his sanction, Hamilton then raced ahead of Lando Norris before moving past Alex Albon’s Williams to take sixth, finishing 7.4 seconds clear to ensure his penalty had no impact on his result. Albon finished seventh ahead of Norris, with Alonso ninth. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins