Max Verstappen: We were just flying around the track!

      Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix in convincing fashion, taking his third victory of the season and his first since the May race at Imola. Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th after an incident involving Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson.

      Max Verstappen (1st): “A wonderful day for our team! I was a bit unlucky on the first lap, but after that we were just flying around the track! Driving a car like this is a pleasure. Throughout the first stint I was able to control the pace quite well and I think the timing of the pit stop was also chosen correctly.

      We put on the hard tyres, and because they are more resistant to wear they allowed us to attack more aggressively towards the end of the race. Overall, the whole team operated very smoothly today. But I think that was the case on the other days of the weekend as well. I’m very happy to win at this circuit!

      From the very start of the race I could see that we had the pace, I just needed to find the rhythm. Intense battles unfolded through the field, and I regained first position as soon as I was sure our pace was good.

      Of course we’ll try to fight for wins at other tracks too, but we’ll move forward gradually, step by step. And this weekend has been incredibly successful!”

      Yuki Tsunoda (13th): “I did the first stint fine, but during the second stint I was upset by the actions of a driver who wasn’t even fighting for points. My car sustained quite serious damage, which cost me pace.

      I’m really upset because I was counting on scoring points – frankly, Lawson had absolutely no need to make such manoeuvres. I don’t even know what to say…

      We know he’s an aggressive driver, and that’s probably not a bad thing, but there should always be a line you don’t cross, especially when we’re both representing Red Bull teams. Of course the competition for seats in these teams is intense, even more than in other teams, but we still have to treat each other with respect. In short, there’s nothing to do but regret it…”