Verstappen sets a new record for the most consecutive Formula 1 wins, Red Bull take the largest championship lead in history and Alonso becomes the first driver to race 20,000 Grand Prix laps. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2023 Italian Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN BREAKS THE CONSECUTIVE F1 WIN RECORD
It was an historic afternoon for Max Verstappen at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, who became the first driver in Formula 1 history to win ten consecutive races. It saw him break Sebastian Vettel’s decade-old record of nine successive wins.
Verstappen became the first driver to win the previous year’s Italian Grand Prix and finish the next season’s event since Lewis Hamilton in 2019. He also became the first driver since Hamilton, in 2017 and 2018, to take successive wins at Monza.
Verstappen became the 20th driver to have won multiple Monza races in Formula 1’s history at the venue.
Having led 33 laps of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen became the sixth driver to have led 2,500 laps in Formula 1.
Verstappen finished on the podium for the 15th consecutive race, equalling the longest podium streak of Fernando Alonso’s career – and the third longest podium streak in Formula 1.
The 2023 Italian Grand Prix was the 33rd consecutive race at which Verstappen scored a point. That saw him equal the second-longest points-scoring streak in Formula 1 history.
ON THE PODIUM AT THE 2023 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Sergio Perez finished as runner-up in the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, securing Red Bull’s 28th 1-2 finish in Formula 1. This was the first time since 2013 that both Red Bull drivers finished on the podium at Monza, as well as the team’s first 1-2 result at the track.
Taking a 1-2 finish, Red Bull now lead the Constructors’ Championship by 310 points. It’s the largest margin by which a team has ever led the championship, breaking Mercedes former record of 297 points set at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 2023 Italian Grand Prix is the 100th race after which Red Bull have led the Constructors’ Championship. They are the fifth team to reach the milestone, after Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams.
This was the tenth consecutive Italian Grand Prix in which Perez scored a point.
Carlos Sainz became the tenth driver to finish on the podium in 2023, finishing in third place. This was his first podium result since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
This was Sainz’s second podium finish at Monza, having finished as runner-up in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.
With Sainz finishing third, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix was the fourth consecutive Monza race which the polesitter failed to win.
All three drivers on the 2023 Italian Grand Prix podium were celebrating their second top three finish at Monza.
IN THE POINTS AT MONZA
Charles Leclerc started third and finished fourth at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, making this the fifth consecutive race in which the Ferrari driver has finished in a worse position than where he started.
With fifth place, Lewis Hamilton scored points at Monza for the 14th time in his career. That saw him equal Michael Schumacher as the driver who has scored on the most occasions at the Italian Grand Prix.
With Hamilton fifth and George Russell sixth, this is only the second time since 2014 that neither Mercedes driver has finished on the Italian Grand Prix podium. It last happened in 2020.
Alex Albon finished in seventh place, finishing in the top eight for a second consecutive race. This is the first time that Albon has finished in the top eight at successive events since his last races with Red Bull in 2020.
Albon recorded Williams’ best result at the Italian Grand Prix since Lance Stroll also finished seventh in 2017. The team has scored at the track in all of the last three seasons.
This is the first time since the 2021 Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix that Williams have finished with at least one car in the top eight at successive races.
Finishing eighth, Lando Norris maintained his 100% points-scoring rate at the Italian Grand Prix. On his fifth appearance, he extended his record as the driver to have made the most appearances at Monza without failing to score.
Norris scored points for the sixth consecutive race, with this being the first time he finished outside of the top seven since the Canadian Grand Prix.
Completing all 51 laps of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso became the first driver in Formula 1 history to have raced 20,000 Grand Prix laps during his career. In addition, Alonso also overtook Kimi Raikkonen as the driver who has raced the most laps at Monza in Formula 1. Alonso has now raced 931 laps at the circuit.
Alonso scored for the 14th race in a row but equalled his worst result of the season to date. He also finished ninth at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Valtteri Bottas scored his first point since the Canadian Grand Prix with a tenth place finish at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix. This was Bottas’ 11th appearance at the event without recording a retirement. He extended the record for most appearances at Monza without a DNF.
This was Bottas’ third points-scoring appearance of the 2023 season, after the Bahrain and Canadian Grands Prix.
With Zhou Guanyu having finished 10th last year, this is the second year in a row that the former Sauber team has scored at the Italian Grand Prix. The team last scored at successive Monza races in 2012 and 2013.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Liam Lawson finished 11th on his second Formula 1 outing. The result saw him move ahead of both Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo in the Drivers’ Championship.
Oscar Piastri ultimately finished outside of the points at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and dropped to 12th in the final order thanks to a time penalty. However, Piastri did lead a lap of the race, making him the 180th driver to lead a lap in Formula 1 history.
In total, five different drivers led a lap of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix. This was the first race to have as many as five different drivers leading a lap since the 2022 United States Grand Prix. It was the ninth race of the V6 hybrid era at which this has occurred.
Piastri lost five positions over the course of the race – making this the eighth race in a row at which he has finished in a worse position than where he started.
With Pierre Gasly 15th and Esteban Ocon failing to finish, this is the second consecutive season in which Alpine failed to score at the Italian Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll finished 16th in the 2023 Italian Grand Prix – his worst result in a race he has finished since finishing 20th at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix and his worst finish at an event where racing took place since finishing 17th at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix.
With Nico Hulkenberg 17th and Kevin Magnussen 18th, Haas have now failed to score in any of the last ten Grands Prix.
This is the first time in the team’s history that neither Haas driver has finished in the top 16 at the Italian Grand Prix.
OCON RETIRES FROM THE RACE
Of the 19 drivers who started the race, Esteban Ocon was the only one who failed to finish. Ocon recorded his fifth retirement of the 2023 season – and his third in the last five races.
Esteban Ocon lost his 100% finishing record at Monza, having never failed to finish on any of his previous six F1 appearances at the track.
TSUNODA FAILS TO START
Yuki Tsunoda failed to start the 2023 Italian Grand Prix after coming to a stop on the formation lap. 2023 is the third consecutive season in which Tsunoda has recorded a DNS and this is the second time that he has recorded a DNS at Monza. Tsunoda is the first driver to record multiple DNSs at Monza in Formula 1.
The 2023 Italian Grand Prix marked the first time that a race has not reached its full distance since the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix and the first time since 1978 that a Formula 1 race at Monza did not reach its scheduled distance.
There were three formation laps as a result of Tsunoda’s stoppage. The last race to have three formation laps was the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix, when a faulty launch control on Cristiano da Matta’s Toyota meant that the drivers toured the circuit three times before the race began.
Thanks in part to the shortening of the race due to the additional formation laps, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix became the shortest ever Formula 1 race which was not red-flagged. As this race was shortened, the 2003 Italian Grand Prix still holds the record as the shortest full distance F1 race. In total, the 2023 Italian Grand Prix was the ninth shortest Formula 1 race on record.