After celebrating his fourth consecutive win and tenth of the season among his Orange fans last Sunday, Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is aiming to deliver the death blow to Ferrari in his stronghold when he takes to the Italian Grand Prix. The 16th round of the Formula 1 World Championship is scheduled for the “Temple of Speed” at the legendary track in Monza.

With a 109-point lead over teammate Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Monaco’s Charles Leclerc, Verstappen is well on his way to retaining the world title.

And a fifth straight win on Sunday at the Ferrari Citadel would see him take the title in round 17 in Singapore or the next round in Japan, meaning he’ll be crowned five or four races before the end of the season. .

The 24-year-old Dutchman and his Austrian team know that Sunday’s victory at the Italian circuit will kill any hope that Ferrari will win its first league title since 2007.

“I don’t think we have any weaknesses”

Based on his victories in 10 out of 15 races this season, Verstappen saw a Red Bull car capable of winning any circuit, regardless of its performance, even if it was a fast car like the Monza, which he never won.

“I don’t think we have any weaknesses, but we know that in some places we are stronger,” he said. with medium downforce, our car is more efficient.”

“That’s why we can’t wait for the Monza race,” he added.

Last week at home, he took the 30th win of his career with a triple pole position, win and fastest lap in the fifth race of the season.

The Dutchman arrives at Monza hoping to improve his chances of equaling German legends Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel in the most wins in a single season, which is 13.

The two Germans shared the Ferrari driving and the Monza win, but Vettel wore Toro Rosso and Red Bull colors, not Ferrari.

Regarded as one of G1’s most historically important circuits, Verstappen certainly wants to add his title to his tally, but he will face stiff competition from hosts looking to keep him from winning in his stronghold.

Binotto under the microscope

Despite his return to the podium on Sunday at the Zandvoort circuit with a third-place finish, Leclerc appears to be in a tough spot as his team continues to make mistakes, whether in the stopping strategy or in the tire change process itself, as happened on Sunday with Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

And after being favorites to take on Red Bull for the title, Ferrari is even in danger of losing the constructors’ title to Mercedes after the improved performance of the German team and its British drivers George Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the final races.

Attention will be focused on Hamilton, who always shines at the track at Monza, making him the most victorious on the Italian track (five) along with Michael Schumacher.

Ferrari CEO Mattia Binotto will be under the microscope for the repeated mistakes of the team, which decided to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the company’s founding and the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Monza circuit by wearing yellow instead of the traditional red. .

Yellow has always been Ferrari’s second color, according to a statement: “From the founding of Scuderia in 1929 and later, when the car company was founded 75 years ago, Enzo Ferrari has chosen yellow. It would be a very special sight. in commemoration of a special occasion, the 100th anniversary of the construction of Monza.”

These changes will only be made this weekend at Monza as Leclerc and Sainz continue to aim to give their team their first home win in three years.

The Italian team has a tendency to equip Sainz with a new lower weight power unit, which means punishing him by returning him to the rear of the starting layout and thus reducing his chances of fighting for victory.

Binotto is aware of Ferrari’s “definitely difficult moments” but urged the team to do the right thing during Sunday’s race against Scuderia fans.

He admitted: “Of course, we are now living in difficult times because we are not delivering the expected results. We need to behave properly at Monza, we will have the support of the Tifuzzi who will buzz in the stands and this will be important for us.”

While the Belgian circuit at Spa-Francorchamps was very difficult for Ferrari due to Red Bull’s high top speed, the Italian team looked to strike back at Zandvoort, but were again overtaken by their Austrian rival.

Binotto was concerned about the speed of the car in the race compared to the Pride Bull despite their closeness in qualifying.

“My biggest concern is that we didn’t have good pace in the last three races. We’re not competitive enough in the races and that definitely makes it harder, not only because we can’t compete with Max at the top, but because we don’t have the speed to keep two Mercedes behind us.

“We still strive to win races and our goal is to win everyone, including Monza.”