MOTORSPORT: Verstappen dominates Monza

Max Verstappen’s dream Formula 1 title defence continued at the Italian Grand Prix yesterday at Monza, where the Red Bull driver claimed his fifth straight victory and his 11th from the 16 races contested to date in 2022.

The Dutchman led comfortably into the closing laps, however, a late safety car to retrieve the expired McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo saw the field bunched.

In scenes contrary to last year’s title decider at Abu Dhabi, the race failed to restart, a point which raised the post-race ire of the second-place Ferrari squad, who had Charles Leclerc lined up directly behind Verstappen.

The points gap between the pair has now extended to 116 with six races remaining.

“We had a great race,” said Verstappen.

“On every compound, we were quickest, and the deg was very good, so we had a really good race car.

“I was just controlling the gap at the end, but of course then the safety car came out.

“Unfortunately, we didn't get a restart, but overall, we had again a really good day.”

With post-qualifying penalties mixing the grid, Leclerc led the field through a scrappy first chicane, with Ricciardo slotting into third behind George Russell’s Mercedes.

Verstappen quickly moved his way from seventh at the start to be placed second, while Sebastian Vettel retired his Aston Martin on lap 12 of 53 with engine issues, necessitating a brief virtual safety car.

At that time, Verstappen claimed the lead from Leclerc, who pitted for fresh tyres.

On lap 32, Fernando Alonso’s run of 10 points-paying finishes didn’t extend to 11, with his Alpine retiring to pit lane, a similar fate experienced by Lance Stroll, with the Aston Marton squad’s day ending with double DNFs.

Of the mid-race sequence of pit stops, Lando Norris’s tardy service on lap 36 proved costly, with the Brit returning to the action behind Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).

The complexion of the race turned on lap 47 when Ricciardo retired on track with a failed Mercedes powerplant after enjoying his most competitive race of the season to date.

With the awkward timing of the safety car, the leaders pitted over successive laps to take on soft tyres without the running order being overly affected.

Verstappen ultimately led the field to the chequered flag at a reduced pace ahead of Leclerc, Russell, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Hamilton, Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Norris, Gasly and debutant Nyck de Vries.

He was a last-minute stand-in at Williams for Alex Albon, who was diagnosed with appendicitis, while Zhou Guanyu scored points for the third time this season for Alfa Romeo.

Earlier in the weekend, Porsche confirmed that will not enter F1 in 2026 with Red Bull Racing as previously announced.

With the team ultimately seeking an engine branding deal, rather than an equity partnership in the Red Bull Technology company, the arrangement fell through.

“In the course of the last few months, Porsche AG and Red Bull GmbH have held talks on the possibility of Porsche’s entry into Formula 1. The two companies have now jointly come to the conclusion that these talks will no longer be continued,” said Porsche on Friday.

“The premise was always that a partnership would be based on an equal footing, which would include not only an engine partnership but also the team. This could not be achieved.

“With the finalised rule changes, the racing series nevertheless remains an attractive environment for Porsche, which will continue to be monitored.

The revelation follows the confirmation of Volkswagen Group sister brand Audi committing to F1 from 2026 in a likely tie-up with the Sauber team, replacing Alfa Romeo, but there is speculation Porsche could still enter F1 with McLaren or a new team linked to Michael Andretti.

Following the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix, the Formula 1 season now kicks off its world tour to round out the season, with the Singapore Grand Prix set for October 2.

Elsewhere in the motorsport world, Australian Will Power sealed his second Indycar crown following a tense season finale at Laguna Seca.

One day after claiming the all-time Indycar pole record from Mario Andretti, the veteran held on to third position to back up his previous series win in 2014.

Meanwhile, Scott McLaughlin finished sixth, with the result elevating the three-time Supercars champion to fourth in the final standings.

2022 Italian Grand Prix results:

2022 Formula 1 championship standings: