By winning the Dutch GP, not only did Max Verstappen win his third consecutive home GP but also his ninth consecutive race this season. Heading to Monza next week, the two-time defending world champion will look to win a record-breaking tenth consecutive Grand Prix. However, a dark cloud looms over the Italian circuit, with RBR Daily revealing the three winners before Verstappen have fallen victim to ‘The Curse of Monza.’
The 25-year-old has been in unstoppable form this season. Rains, his personal goals, potential tensions within the team, and challenges from the best drivers on the grid- nothing has halted the Dutchman’s progress. Can Monza be the champ’s kryptonite?
What is the Monza Curse?
First things first, the Monza Curse is only a fan-fed theory, but one that has gained credibility each passing year. The theory suggests that the driver who wins the race one year fails to even cross the finish line the following year. In 2019 Charles Leclerc won the Monza GP after an epic showdown with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. However, in the following year, the Monegasque driver suffered a horrific crash while making a turn at the iconic Parabolica.
With Leclerc out, Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) grabbed his maiden F1 win in 2020. The next year, Gasly could not even go halfway through the first lap as he crashed into the barrier after the first couple of corners. The crash gave way to a third winner in three years in Italy, with Daniel Ricciardo securing P1 while driving for McLaren.
As one would expect by now, Ricciardo, too, did not finish the race in 2022 after suffering an engine failure mid-race. Thus, Verstappen won the race, putting him next in line to face the Monza curse.
Max Verstappen faces the biggest challenge of the season
Not only did last year’s win in Monza mark Verstappen‘s fifth consecutive win of the bygone season, but it also marked his first-ever F1 race win in Italy. Although a finish behind the safety car put a dampener on the win, the Red Bull car was still the fastest throughout the weekend, with his team believing he deserved the win under any circumstances.
Having defeated all the challenges so far, Verstappen now faces potentially his biggest challenge this season. Given he crashed in Italy two seasons ago, the biggest question on race day will be whether he can reverse the curse that has haunted past winners. With no clear challenge from opposing teams or even the weather conditions, only time will tell if the Monza curse will stop the Verstappen-named boulder.
