Martin Brundle noticed an ‘important’ difference in Max Verstappen after winning the Italian Grand Prix

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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen returned to winning ways at the Italian Grand Prix with a fantastic performance in front of thousands of passionate Ferrari fans.

Max Verstappen was largely anonymous on Friday at Monza, before putting in an incredible display of skill when it mattered in qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton previously held the record for the fastest lap in F1 history, but Verstappen stole that in Q3 on Saturday with a phenomenal lap to beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to pole position.

Damon Hill was quick to praise Verstappen, but it wasn’t clear whether Red Bull had enough pace to keep both McLaren drivers at bay during the race.

Norris actually got the better of Verstappen on the opening lap, forcing him off track to defend his position, before Red Bull told the Dutchman to give it back.

It didn’t take long for the 27-year-old to regain the lead, using his incredible speed down the main straight to lunge down the outside of his McLaren on the opening lap.

Norris enjoyed a ‘good fight’ with Verstappen at the start of the race, but McLaren were forced to gamble on strategy to try and achieve victory.

That nearly spectacularly backfired, with Piastri forced to give Norris a position back after a slow pit stop, but Verstappen had more than enough time to comment on the incident as he sailed home for a 66th F1 victory.

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Martin Brundle noticed Max Verstappen’s ‘quite animated’ Italian Grand Prix victory celebration

David Croft and Martin Brundle were commentating for Sky Sports F1 (7/9 3:29 pm) as Verstappen celebrated another win with his Red Bull team.

Croft explained: “Sixty-six times now he’s taken the chequered flag to win a Grand Prix, this one will feel very special for him.

“A third Grand Prix win at Monza.”

Brundle commented: “Yeah, he’s very animated, very happy, is Max.

“Despite all of his victories, he’s punching the air like that, is for Max, I think, quite animated these days.

“He needed that; that was an important win for him.”

Croft replied: “He’s still got it. When the car is there for him, he delivers.”

After the podium ceremony, Brundle added: “He’s had a lean time, Max hasn’t he by his standards.

“Just observing him, this really means a lot to him, this victory.”

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Max Verstappen admits Red Bull race pace was ‘better than expected’

Verstappen narrowed the gap at the top of the drivers’ championship to Norris and Piastri, although the title still remains very much out of reach.

However, there were plenty of positives for the Dutchman to take, primarily that Red Bull delivered another minor, track-specific update that gave them an advantage over McLaren.

Speaking in the media pen after the race, Verstappen admitted: “I would say the race pace was even better than expected. The balance was just quite nice. For most of the first stint, we were looking good on the tyres.

“We did the right strategy. We pitted to the hards so I could push flat out to the end.

“I understood the strategy of McLaren staying out, hoping for a Safety Car. But, at the end, it was quite straightforward. That’s nice sometimes.

“Experimenting but at the same time trying to find solutions. Throughout this season we’ve been a bit all over the shop and I think now we’ve found a direction that suits the car, so I hope from now onwards it will be a little bit more consistent.”

Verstappen appears to be benefiting from changes that Laurent Mekies is making behind the scenes as do the rest of the team who are improving the car’s performance around him.

It appears as though his biggest challenge is working out how to extract the maximum out of the driver on the other side of the garage after another pointless weekend for Yuki Tsunoda…