“Feel Sorry for You”: Putting Historic Win on Backburner Verstappen Sympathizes With Sainz to Showcase Ultimate Sportsman Spirit

He might not be a 3X champion yet, but he sure is on the way to becoming one. Max Verstappen won the Italian GP and broke the long-held record that he equaled at the Dutch GP. The Dutchman is just unstoppable at the moment. Nonetheless, Verstappen put his historic win on the back burner to sympathize with Carlos Sainz and show an amazing display of sportsmanship. 

Max Verstappen, after qualifying P2 for the Monza GP, fought hard and cleanly with Carlos Sainz, overtook him before the first pitstop phase, and never saw the rear end of another car for the rest of the race. The win at Monza means Max Verstappen has now surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s record of most consecutive wins with this being the 10th one. One can only wonder how far the Dutchman will take this record. 

Nonetheless, Carlos Sainz did put up a good fight but was no match to Max Verstappen’s sheer pace and RB19’s tire preservation characteristics. Sainz ran out of tires, made a mistake and Verstappen passed him. After the race, Max Verstappen felt sorry for the Spaniard and showed compassion by saying, “I felt sorry for you. You were sliding like crazy.” 

Read More: “Keep Shouting & Screaming”: Max Verstappen Shuts Down Lewis Hamilton’s Ugly Mind Games to Rattle Red Bull Juggernaut

Just goes on to tell how much Max Verstappen has changed over the years. From the aggressive, hot-blooded, young gun to a compassionate, still young, guy displaying the sportsmanship spirit. Let’s see what the Dutchman had to say about breaking the record.

Max Verstappen on breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record and the Ferrari not making it easy

Max Verstappen was stuck behind Carlos Sainz for the majority of the first stint. It was only when Sainz’s tires gave up that Max Verstappen overtook him. During the post-race interview, Verstappen explained how he never imagined that he’d be able to break the record for most consecutive wins and that it was an amazing moment. He then went on to explain how Ferrari made it a little challenging for him.

During the post-race interviews, Max Verstappen said, “I mean I never would have believed [10 wins] was possible but we had to work for it today, so that made it a lot more fun. We had good pace and good on the tires, but they had a strong top speed. It was so hard to get close and get a move into Turn 1, I had to force [Sainz] into a mistake. I tried to stay patient, it’s a long race, and I could see they were struggling with the tires and I just had to pick my moment.”

What do you think about Max Verstappen’s triumph?

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