Max Verstappen wins the Italian Grand Prix as he holds off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc

The Red Bull star is now on the brink of defending his world title as the Italian Grand Prix finished behind the safety car in Monza

A sea of red erupted in fury at Verstappen’s victory (Getty)

On a week where the royal family were the focal point of the world’s spotlight, a disjointed starting grid under the Italian sun had the making for an appropriate monarchic finale this afternoon given the front row. Yet it wasn’t a much-promised second Monza triumph for King Charles; nor a maiden victory for Prince George. It was Max. At the moment, it’s always Max.

Starting down the pecking order only serves to bring the best out of F1’s champion-in-waiting, whose domination this season shows no signs of stopping. It was P7 on the grid today but – much like his ascent in Spa two weeks ago – he was at the front of the pack by lap 13 and he and his peerless Red Bull pit wall remained in control to claim a fifth straight victory this season.

For the majority, Red Bull’s simple one-stop strategy looked to be paying dividends ahead of Ferrari overcomplicating their race-day calls once again, as they pitted Leclerc twice with the Monegasque subsequently 20 seconds down the road.

A late safety car with five laps to go, brought out after Daniel Ricciardo stopped with an engine failure on the side of the track, gave Leclerc and the raucous tifosi crowd hope as the entire field pitted. But it was too late. The marshals could not remove the stricken McLaren from the track quickly enough and, to loud jeers in the grandstands, the race finished behind the safety car.

The race director followed the safety car protocols correctly unlike, whisper it quietly, Abu Dhabi last year. Leclerc came home a frustrated man in second, while George Russell claimed his seventh podium of the season in third.

The gap is now 116 points at the top of the world championship and Verstappen has broken his Monza podium curse, claiming an impressive triple-header European sweep in doing so. A second world title is wrapped up with six races to go – and could be won as soon as the next race in Singapore in three weeks’ time.

From the start, Verstappen was in his rhythm, climbing up to fourth in one lap and a few laps later sending a terrific overtake past a powerless Russell into the first chicane.

With Leclerc now two seconds up the road, the chase was on until Sebastian Vettel retired at the side of the track on lap 12, triggering a virtual safety car. Who would blink first? Of course it was Ferrari.

Leclerc changed onto medium tyres despite the driver himself being concerned that the stint may be too long in a 53-lap race. Maybe the man in the cockpit should be sterner in his opinion; it could well serve him better down the line.

Leclerc led Verstappen early on but Ferrari opted for a flawed two-stop strategy (AFP via Getty)

Meanwhile, Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz – starting in P18 due to a grid penalty – had surged up the field and was behind his teammate in fourth with just a third of the grand prix gone. He would finish the grand prix in that position.

As for Lewis Hamilton, also starting at the back of the grid, he was less rapid in his progression but ended up finishing fifth. Just about as good as the seven-time champion could realistically muster.

Verstappen ducked into the pit lane 13 laps after his Ferrari rival, opting for mediums as Red Bull stayed cool and composed in sweltering mid-afternoon sunshine. Meanwhile toing and froing on the Ferrari pit wall – “plans, A, B, C, G” – has been a constant theme throughout the season and as they eventually opted for “plan C”, Leclerc switched to a two-stop strategy and boxed for softs with 20 laps to go.

However, the progress simply was not there for the prancing horse. It was all slipping away for Leclerc and the thousands in the terraces and by the time they thought their prayers were answered with a late safety car, it was still too late.

Verstappen won his fifth race in a row and now could claim the championship at the next grand prix in Singapore (AFP via Getty)

Ultimately, Ferrari did not win the raffle on their special weekend as they celebrated their 75th anniversary in blinding yellow attire. There was no Scuderia coronation; just blaring boos from their fanbase as Verstappen took to the podium overlooking a sea of angry red on the main straight. It is time for Formula One to appreciate a new man – a Dutchman – on the championship throne.