Italian Grand Prix 03/09/2023 Preview
After the Max Verstappen claimed his ninth win in a row at Zandvoort, it’s straight on to Monza to see if the soon-to-be three-time World Champion can break more records.
No driver in the history of F1 has ever won 10 races in a row, but Verstappen is in a prime position to move clear of Alberto Ascari and Sebastian Vettel this weekend.
It is easy to forget there are 19 other drivers and nine other teams on the F1 2023 grid, but hopefully some value can be found away from the dominant Verstappen-Red Bull at the iconic ‘Temple of Speed’.
The Ferrari team simply have to deliver at their home race in front of their passionate Tifosi.
The Dutch Grand Prix last weekend was certainly a forgettable event for the Scuderia in what is fast becoming a forgettable season, however, all hope is not lost and the team will be confident that the Monza track characteristics will give their long-suffering fans something to cheer about.
Barring a sudden stoppage for Verstappen and/or Perez, it’s very difficult to see Ferrari winning the race or dragging at least one car into the podium spots, so let’s play it relatively safe and go for a double-points finish at surprisingly good odds.
Sticking with the Ferrari theme, we will also side with Carlos Sainz to get the better of team-mate Charles Leclerc this weekend and deliver another top-six finish.
The Spaniard seems much more comfortable with the SF23 of late and it is becoming harder to trust Leclerc after another error-prone performance in Zandvoort.
Even though Ferrari struggled for speed at the Dutch Grand Prix, Sainz still made the best of a bad situation with a P5 finish and will be confident of at least repeating that again on Sunday.
If we presume that both cars of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari all finish in the points this weekend, let’s hope there is more than enough space left for the very impressive Alex Albon to add to his points tally.
After being chewed up and spat out by the Red Bull machine during the F1 2020 season, Albon has successfully repaired his damaged reputation with some incredible performances for Williams, to the point where other teams higher up the F1 chain may consider pinching him away.
Another eye-catching display at Zandvoort means it is impossible to ignore him to be in points contention again this weekend.
