Verstappen victory breaks record as Red Bull beats Ferrari to one-two

MONZA, Italy -- Max Verstappen extended his Formula One winning streak to an unprecedented 10 races after Red Bull secured a one-two victory at the Italian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel previously held the record for consecutive wins in F1, with nine. Verstappen's seemingly unstoppable run means he is now clear of that number, with the potential to extend it further over the rest of the season.

Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who started first and third on the grid, put up a fight against the dominant Red Bulls early in the race but ultimately didn't have the pace to challenge for victory and ended up in their own battle for third place.

In the final five laps the two Ferraris battled for the final podium position, with contact between the two cars on Lap 47 and a series of wheel-to-wheel battles into Turn 1. 

Leclerc was told "no risk" over the radio on the penultimate lap before locking up both front tyres in a wild attempt to pass his teammate at the first chicane on the final lap. Ultimately, Sainz held the position and secured his first podium finish of the year. 

It took 15 laps of racing for Verstappen, who started second on the grid behind Sainz, to take the lead with a carefully-planned move into Monza's second chicane.

Verstappen put pressure on Sainz into Turn 1, causing the Spaniard to lock a wheel under braking for the chicane, which in turn compromised his exit and allowed Verstappen to pull alongside through the sweeping Curva Grande and complete the overtake into the Roggia chicane.

Four laps later, Verstappen had a 3.8 second lead over Sainz, who then found himself in a tight battle with teammate Leclerc.

Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, had been working his way through the field from fifth on the grid and passed Leclerc for third place on Lap 32 of 51.

But unlike Verstappen after passing Sainz earlier in the race, Perez was initially unable to pull away from Leclerc as he too got stuck behind Sainz in a thrilling battle with ten laps left to run.

On Laps 43 and 45, Perez attacked Sainz into Turn 1, but on both occasions missed the first part of the chicane and had to give the position back.

"He's not leaving any room, man," Perez said on Lap 45 before passing Sainz for second place at the start of Lap 46.

Verstappen's victory extends his lead in the championship to 145 points with eight races remaining, meaning he is still on target to wrap the title up at the Qatar Grand Prix with five races remaining.

Ferrari's haul of 27 points means it has now moved ahead of Aston Martin in the constructors' championship, behind Mercedes and Red Bull.

Outside the top four, George Russell secured fifth place ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Both Mercedes drivers had five-second penalties, Russell for skipping the first chicane after returning to the track alongside Esteban Ocon after his pit stop, and Hamilton for colliding with Oscar Piastri while fighting for position at the second chicane.

However, their advantage over the cars behind means neither penalty had an impact on the final result.

Alex Albon secured more points for Williams in seventh with another strong performance in which he kept McLaren's Lando Norris behind behind him. Fernando Alonso took ninth for Aston Martin, ahead of Valtteri Bottas who took the final point on offer in tenth.

After his collision with Hamilton, Piastri had to stop for a new front wing and finished 12th with the fastest lap.