Max Verstappen proved himself wrong at Monza - will he do so again?

Max Verstappen crushed the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at Monza, winning the Italian Grand Prix by almost 20 seconds.

It was the Dutchman's third victory of the current F1 campaign and the 66th of his storied career. However, in doing so, the Red Bull driver proved himself wrong, after he claimed he would not win another grand prix all year.

After the disastrous round in Hungary, which concluded the first part of the season, the four-time F1 drivers' champion declared himself unable to triumph again, bemoaning the lack of performance from his RB21 as Red Bull's waning powers continued to decline.

New team principal Laurent Mekies cautioned it was too early to make such a definitive call, and his since been proven correct.

The upgraded floor the Milton Keynes-based squad brought to the Temple of Speed helped provide larger gains than expected, in a wider operating window than first anticipated.

Improved aerodynamic grip and balance, twinned with nailing the set-up, helped vault Verstappen into contention. He set the fastest lap in F1 history - when measured on average speed - to secure pole position in qualifying before dominating the grand prix.

At 94 points adrift of Piastri in the title hunt, Verstappen would need nothing short of a miracle to win a fifth crown in succession.

But, built on the foundation of improved performance, can the 27-year-old triumph again over the remaining eight rounds of the year?

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