Max Verstappen flawlessly won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. After a relatively long period without victories, the Dutchman climbed back to the top step of the podium at Monza. The four-time world champion built a lead of more than nineteen seconds after a brief duel with rival Lando Norris. Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished fifth, was left puzzled by Verstappen’s convincing victory.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull made a remarkable turnaround in Monza. Before the summer break, the Dutchman finished in a disappointing ninth place in Hungary, far behind the other top teams. During the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Red Bull also had a disastrous weekend, after which Verstappen described his car as ‘a monster’. Speaking to Sky Sports, George Russell expressed his disbelief about Verstappen’s latest performance.
Verstappen’s Victory Quite Impressive
“We can certainly say that Formula 1 remains a bit of a strange sport,” said the British Mercedes driver. “I find it hard to understand how Max Verstappen can have a forty-second deficit in Bahrain and then win here and in Imola with a twenty-second lead. That’s quite impressive.” George Russell is curious about how the upcoming races will turn out now that Verstappen is back in the running for the win. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the upcoming races,” he continued. “Of course, I hope that we can compete for podium positions more often, but Ferrari has also made a small step forward. That doesn’t make it easy.”
Russell also believes that he could have qualified better if he had driven his fast laps on the medium tires. However, Mercedes ignored his request to fit the yellow rubbers under the car. “I was confident that I could have placed ahead of the Ferraris,” Russell explained. “I probably could have finished at least one place higher. But in the race, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve much anyway. P5 is simply where we stand now.”
