Explained: The problem Verstappen had to ‘nurse’ at end of Italian GP

Two-time world champion Verstappen overcame Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at Monza to become the first driver in F1 history to win 10 straight races, setting a new record in the process. 

Verstappen revealed after Sunday’s race that he had to “nurse a little issue” in the closing laps. The Dutchman was told by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to drop back from Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri in what was described as being “quite an urgent request”. 

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko confirmed the concern was related to rising temperatures in Verstappen’s RB19. 

"It was about the temperatures, to avoid them from going up further," Marko said. "We had to keep some of the temperatures within a certain window.

"Max was 12 seconds ahead as well, so there was no reason to push or to take any risks. On the other hand, it was also good because his fastest lap idea couldn't come up.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: "He was managing some temperature issues, and we just didn't want to take any risk. 

"It was a stinking hot day, and we had a couple of temperatures that were under control, but there's a bunch of cars ahead of [Pierre] Gasly and we just didn't want to run in dirty air. 

“That's why we took it a little bit easier the last few laps.”

Verstappen’s 12th win from 14 races maintained Red Bull’s unbeaten start to the 2023 season and keeps him on track to win a third consecutive world title by next month’s Qatar Grand Prix.