Max Verstappen reckoned his once-dominant Red Bull team had taken another step toward getting back to its form of old with a victory in Monza on Sunday.

Even if a fifth successive Formula One title now looks well out of his reach, the Dutch driver won the Italian Grand Prix by more than 19 seconds — qualifying with the sport's fastest-ever lap and following up with the fastest race in history.

The victory ended a run of eight races without a win and followed a second-place finish at home in Zandvoort, Netherlands, the weekend before, leaving Verstappen 94 points adrift of McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri with eight rounds remaining.