Even though Max Verstappen won 10 consecutive races in a row, the wins were not easy to pick up as the Red Bull driver had to go through numerous challenges. One such challenging race was the recently concluded Italian Grand Prix and Verstappen had to use one of Carlos Sainz’s weaknesses to win the race, as per F1 Journaal.
Sainz started the Monza race from the pole. As the Spanish driver began from the front, he had a mighty job of keeping Verstappen behind. Initially, he was doing a brilliant job in holding off Verstappen, but soon, showed signs of struggling.
A 10/10 performance today @redbullracing 🏆
To win 10 races in a row, and 15 consecutive races as a team, is unbelievable! 💪 I’m beyond proud to achieve this milestone together 👏
Today we will enjoy this moment and then we will keep pushing for more ☝
#ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/Cj8DPqmxzN
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) September 3, 2023
It was not possible for the Spanish driver to keep the two-time world champion at bay throughout the race. Ultimately, Verstappen used one of Sainz’s weaknesses to overcome him and then went on to win the race.
Max Verstappen used Sainz’s weakness to claim his ten back-to-back wins
As Verstappen started from P2 and began to attack Sainz from lap one, the team’s strategy came into full effect, as suggested by Christian Horner. The Red Bull boss revealed that they wanted to put pressure on Sainz from the very get go.
Talking about this, he said, “We went all out, we were pushing incredibly hard and the Ferraris were also fighting hard. It was a serious fight” He further added, “Max is very smart in such a situation. He was pushing Carlos so that one of his weaknesses could be exploited. He had to demand a lot from his tires.”
🇮🇹It was a great weekend and to celebrate a podium with the tifosi is the perfect icing on the cake! Unfortunately P3 was the maximum. Good battles with the Red Bulls and Charles. I hope people enjoyed it as much as I did. Next Singapore!
👉https://t.co/lD6nZizQhb pic.twitter.com/W7aner87Ia
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) September 3, 2023
Notably, the SF-23 by Ferrari is a tire eater compared to the RB-19 which has been noted for its low tire degradation. Therefore, finishing P3 with Sainz was the best Ferrari could have hoped for in Monza.
Where did Ferrari fail against Red Bull?
The Ferrari challengers have more drag-related issues as they have less straight-line speed and less significant DRS advantage. On top of these, their tire degradation is also very alarming.
All of this not only allowed Verstappen to overtake Sainz but also allowed Sergio Perez to come back from behind to pass the Madrid-born driver. The Mexican driver overtook Sainz and Leclerc one by one to finish the race in P2.
Therefore, the European leg of the season ended perfectly for the Milton-Keynes-based team as they picked up all 14. An ever-dominant Max Verstappen will be rejoicing in his ten back-to-back wins. Ferrari meanwhile, will be looking to improve.
