Max Verstappen Isn’t Ruling Out Ferrari Win at Home Despite Red Bull Being Undefeated Throughout the Season

The 2023 season has been a one-team show in terms of winning a Grand Prix. Red Bull has won all the races so far, with Max Verstappen standing on the top of the podium eleven times this season. With more than half the season over, hopes of seeing a non-Red Bull win continue to dwindle. However, ahead of the Monza GP, Max Verstappen told Motorsport-Total he isn’t ruling out a Ferrari win just yet.

Red Bull are on the back of a 14-race winning streak, which has been going on since the Abu Dhabi GP in 2022. By doing so, not only have they remained unbeaten this season, but have also broken McLaren’s record of most consecutive wins (11) from 25 years ago. Heading to Monza, Verstappen could create his own record for most consecutive wins as a driver in F1, for which he is currently tied with Sebastian Vettel (9).

The record might not come as easy for Verstappen, given the great pace put on display by Ferrari during the practice sessions in Monza. Carlos Sainz recorded the fastest lap during the two practice sessions on Friday with a time of 1:21.355.

Max Verstappen believes Ferrari might win the Monza GP

At the end of Friday’s practice sessions in Monza, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz emerged as the most consistent driver on the day. The Spaniard recorded a P2 in the first session, behind Max Verstappen, but managed to secure P1 by the end of FP2. With the Ferrari driver’s impressive driving, Verstappen was asked about the Maranello-based team being their biggest rival in Monza.

“We have to wait until everyone turns up their engines.”

After a dismal showing in Zandvoort, the Italian outfit will look to make amends when racing in their home GP. With an impressive first day of the race weekend, Ferrari’s efforts suggest the team will push for a podium finish, if not a race win. Both Ferrari drivers recorded satisfactory lap times, with Sainz emerging as the fastest driver of the day.

Ferrari aiming to finish as high as possible in Monza

With racing heading to the temple of speed, Ferrari will be hoping for yet another memorable home race. While they will aim to try and push for a win in Monza, the more realistic goal will be to achieve P2. Given their dominance in 2023, Red Bull are clear favorites to win the feature race, despite Ferrari getting the better of them on Day 1.

 

2023 Drivers Standings without Max Verstappen #f1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/sU1T6V9sWR

— Naren Harwani (@narenharwani7) August 29, 2023

With P2 being a more achievable goal, a tough battle awaits the prancing horse as every team is eyeing to be the next-best on the grid. With each race weekend, a new team emerges as a contender for the second place on the podium. So far, we have had Aston Martin, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes finish P2 in a race. Keeping the same in mind, the Italian team will hope Sainz continues to perform the way he did on Friday.