MAX VERSTAPPEN poked fun at McLaren as he soared to victory a whopping 19 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in the fastest F1 race in history.
The Dutchman put his two fingers up to McLaren and their ‘fastest car’ after also grabbing the fastest lap ever in the sport in Saturday’s qualifying at the Temple of Speed.
Max Verstappen bested the McLarens as he rocketed to victory at Monza[/caption]
Lando Norris took second after being given back a place by teammate Oscar Piastri[/caption]
There was late team order drama between the squabbling McLarens as Norris suffered a whopping 5.9 second pit stop and was undercut by teammate Oscar Piastri.
The Aussie was then told by McLaren to give the place BACK to Norris, which he did so very reluctantly before eventually finishing in third, ahead of fourth place Charles Leclerc and fifth place George Russell.
Norris is now 31 points behind Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship and Verstappen couldn’t help chuckling when he was told of the news, saying: “Ha! Just because he had a slow stop?”
He added after the race: “That was unbelievable. What an unbelievable weekend, you can be really proud of that.”
At lights out Verstappen got off well but Lando Norris made a blistering start before clipping the grass and just keeping his car under control.
Verstappen then went off at Turn One to hold onto the lead from the Brit but was no doubt going to have to give the place back.
Norris was livid and fumed: “What the…what’s this idiot doing? Come on. He’s put me in the grass and then he’s just cut the corner.”
The Dutchman is then told to give the position to Norris and the Birt takes the lead down the front straight.
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Championship leader Piastri was not pleased at having to give up his shot at a battle with Verstappen[/caption]
There was a brilliant battle between Piastri and Leclerc for third as the Monegasque driver went ahead before the Aussie produced a bullish move, flying around the outside to go back ahead.
On lap four, Verstappen powered past Norris thanks to DRS, with the Brit locking up for added measure.
Behind the leaders, Piastri was complaining on the radio saying Leclerc needed to give up third place after also going off track.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was looking up for it, making up five spots from tenth.
He was however noted for cutting the first chicane on the opening lap when he got by Yuki Tsunoda.
Verstappen was pulling away nicely just like the old days, with him over five seconds ahead.
Fernando Alonso suffered heartbreak and was left out of the race due to suspension failure on lap 26.
Verstappen’s tyres began blistering as the race went on but he responded well to Norris’ pressure and kept the gap at six seconds.
There was a Mexican stand off between McLaren and Red Bull to see who would pit first.
Verstappen finally made the first move though and reemerged from the pits behind the two McLarens.
Red Bull’s bold race strategy helped Verstappen cruise to victory[/caption]
He was flying and notched a new fastest lap of the race, and eating into Norris and Piastri’s time by over one second.
There was a dramatic moment as Ollie Bearman clipped Carlos Sainz and both spun off the track but recovered just in time as Isack Hadjar flew past.
British Haas driver Bearman was slapped with a 10 second penalty for the incident.
There was chaos in the McLaren camp as a sluggish 5.9 second pit stop for Norris and Piastri UNDCUT him.
The Aussie was then told to let the Brit past and would then be free to race but all eyes were on Verstappen who finished the race in a different post code.
