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The Dutch Grand Prix was a super exciting one for most teams. Except for Ferrari, that is. After the fiasco of coming out for a pitstop with no tyres, the scarlet team hopes to switch up their luck with a new race kit at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. To be worn by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the fans are probably hoping that the iconic Ferrari yellow will also bring back the good old winning days! That is entirely dependent on the dominant Max Verstappen, however. The champion and championship leader has been breaking all records recently, including Sebastian Vettel’s longest win streak just last weekend, and it doesn’t look like anything will stop him.
Leading the Pack
Going into the Italian Grand Prix, set to take place between September 1 and 3, Max Verstappen leads the board with 339, with his teammate and closest rival, Sergio Perez, a solid 138 points behind. In the Constructors Championship, Red Bull Racing are at 540 points, with Mercedes in second place with 247 points. Further down the order, former world champions Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are renewing their old rivalry. With only 12 points separating the veterans, Alonso, in his Aston Martin, leads the race for third spot.
Crowd and grid favorite Daniel Ricciardo underwent surgery on his broken hand and will unfortunately miss the Italian Grand Prix. While he did post on Instagram saying, "This ain't a setback, just all part of the comeback" after the successful procedure, Red Bull boss Christian Horner did say recovery for a driver would be quicker than for most, "but certainly not Italy." We will probably see Liam Lawson continue for at least this weekend.
Winds of Change
While the weather conditions for Friday and Saturday are currently slated to be dry, Sunday looks like rain, again! Here’s hoping it will be as electric and the Dutch Grand Prix. Expect a few changes in terms of strategy and upgrades though. Alfa Romeo comes with promises of a big leap forward, as does McLaren. Ferrari were meant to have upgrades, but that remains to be seen on track.
The Italian Grand Prix will be the last one in Europe as focus will move out of the continent to Singapore, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, Abu Dhabi, Brazil and USA.