Verstappen needs to look in his mirrors: "Didn't have the pace"

What started out looking like a difficult weekend for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, they have turned it into a unique opportunity to extend their lead over Lewis Hamilton in the space of half an hour on Saturday afternoon. After a poor start by the world champion, he is picking up points against Hamilton and the grid penalty for Bottas means he has an excellent starting position for the race.

After the sprint race Verstappen is pleasantly surprised when he The Telegraph comments: "I expected that we would lose points on Saturday. I have increased the lead a little. Every little bit helps of course. But it can also quickly turn around. I know all about that."

Mercedes too fast at Monza

Given the speed of Mercedes on the Monza circuit, the Dutchman is expecting to see Hamilton in his mirrors at some point during the race. Especially if the Mercedes driver manages to pass both McLarens at the start it will be difficult to keep Hamilton behind him.

During the sprint race the advantage of Mercedes became clear to Verstappen again. "You can see here that Mercedes are clearly faster than us, given their engine advantage. In the sprint race I was able to stay reasonably close to Valtteri, but I didn't have the pace to really attack him. When he had to kick after a good lap of mine, he could easily parry it. I don't feel that there was ever more than a second place in the race," the championship leader added.