\n
\nMILAN: Formula One champion Max Verstappen is feeling unusually optimistic about his chances to finally get a good result at the Italian Grand Prix.
Monza is the only circuit where Verstappen has never even finished on the podium, with the Red Bull driver\u2019s best result being fifth in 2018.
Verstappen did not even manage to finish the past two editions of the Italian GP at all, with his retirement last year coming after a spectacular crash with title rival Lewis Hamilton, who was also forced to abandon the race.
However, the Dutch driver will take to the track on Sunday on the back of four straight wins and with his Red Bull having had a superior straight-line speed all season, which is crucial on one of F1\u2019s fastest tracks.
\u201cWe\u2019ve always been slow on the straights, so then it\u2019s normal when you get here that it\u2019s never going to be a good weekend,\u201d Verstappen said when asked about his previous problems at Monza. \u201cAnd besides that, you know, a few technical issues as well around this track and we always had to take engine penalties around here as well. So naturally, it\u2019s never going to be amazing.
\u201cBut now I think with straight-line speed, it can be a completely different weekend for us.\u201d
Verstappen\u2019s dominant performances have seen the championship leader build a 109-point advantage over Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio P\u00e9rez, with just seven races remaining.
Last year he led Hamilton by just three points heading into the Italian GP.
\u201cI\u2019m always relaxed,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cEven last year, you know, when the lead wasn\u2019t that big, I think we always felt good and confident. But of course, with the lead we have now, yeah it\u2019s nice and it\u2019s great, but we still want to win more races.\u201d
Verstappen won in front of his home fans at the Dutch GP on Sunday and Ferrari will be hoping its passionate red-clad tifosi equally have something to celebrate this weekend on its home track.
Leclerc was on the top step of Monza\u2019s iconic podium in 2019 but that was Ferrari\u2019s only success since 2010 and he\u2019s not expecting to repeat that this year, especially after another error-strewn showing from the team at Zandvoort.
\u201cOn paper at least, it looks like a difficult weekend,\u201d Leclerc said. \u201cWe expect Red Bull to be stronger, the track characteristics doesn\u2019t fit exactly our car but we\u2019ve had some good and bad surprises this year so hopefully this is one of the good ones and we overperform compared to what we expect.
\u201cComparing to Red Bull specially \u2026 we are slower down the straights. Their main strength this year is straight-line speed, we seem to be a bit quicker in the corners. At tracks like here, it\u2019s not enough to gain back the advantage that they have on the straights.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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