The Italian Grand Prix is the final European race of the season as F1 prepares to head on its final intercontinental journey across Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

Its destination will inevitably be the crowning of Max Verstappen, but Monza won’t necessarily be another step to that end.

Carlos Sainz emerged victorious — just — over the Red Bull driver in qualifying, and Verstappen is sandwiched by the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who starts third on the grid. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has said that it will look to capitalise in the situation with a “two-pronged strategy”.

It’s another obstacle for Verstappen, who is currently on a run of nine consecutive victories and will break one of F1’s oldest records if he can win at Monza. His car may have formidable race pace but he’ll also have to contend with the many hazards that can upturn the conventional order, from the gruelling demands of the circuit and the unique set-up it rewards, to (depending on your credulousness) a winner’s jinx.

So will it be a race of twists, drama and an unlikely victor? Or will we be watching lap after of cars queuing in a DRS train? Here’s what to watch for at the Italian Grand Prix.

Can Ferrari win the Italian Grand Prix from pole?

Sainz was the fastest driver on track in qualifying, but only just — by 67-thousandths of a second over Verstappen. On the face of it, that doesn’t bode well for the Scuderia, which tends to see tyre wear compromise its race pace while Red Bull is usually more competitive during grands prix.

Ferrari has two key tools in its armour: the first is Leclerc, starting right behind Sainz on the second row and well-placed to support a team victory. “We will need to work well as a team and give it our best shot,” said Sainz when asked about his prospects of winning. “I think it’s a good opportunity tomorrow, but also being realistic, the Red Bull should be quicker. We’re just going to try and make their life as complicated as possible and try to take the win.”

Vasseur reinforced this by talking of a “two-pronged strategy”, which could involve pitting one car early and pressuring Red Bull to do the same to avoid losing ground to a Ferrari on fresher tyres. The aim would be to reduce Verstappen’s pace as he tried to stretch his second stint longer than planned, or to push him on to a slower two-stop strategy. In Monza, a single stop is likely to be quicker thanks to the long pitlane that adds precious seconds to stops.

Despite the hazards of Monza, Verstappen remains the favourite to win in Italy, which would see him and Red Bull breaking two records that are almost as old as F1 itself.

Verstappen’s ninth consecutive grand prix win at Zandvoort last weekend equalled the tally set by Alberto Ascari over the 1952 and 1953 seasons, which was also matched by Sebastian Vettel in 2013. One more victory would take him beyond them and into double figures.

At the same time, Red Bull would also break the record for most consecutive team wins. It’s currently on 14, shared with Ferrari, which again achieved the feat in the 1952-’53 seasons. Even if Verstappen falters, Sergio Perez could deliver the 15th victory.

The race of Liam Lawson’s career?

It’s been a quiet season on the F1 driver market so far, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s contract extensions coming as little surprise. It could get interesting, though, if Liam Lawson can build on a promising start at the Dutch Grand Prix and impress at Monza.

A stand-out drive last year from De Vries went a long way to securing his AlphaTauri drive, but after being replaced by Ricciardo, who who then broke his hand, there’s a vacancy available and a timely performance from Lawson would be hard to ignore.

Adding to the theatre, the young New Zealander starts alongside Yuki Tsunoda, having qualified 12th, 0.16sec behind his team-mate. The start could be a drag race that defines their futures.