Holding off Max Verstappen isn’t easy, the Dutchman always fighting to make up every place he can. But Sergio Perez stuck his elbows out in Italy, denying the Red Bull driver P7 at Monza with a stoic defence.

With an absorbing battle between the Mercedes drivers and Charles Leclerc at the head of the field, it was easy to overlook what had been a brilliant Italian Grand Prix performance by Perez.

READ MORE: ‘I just couldn’t get by on the straight – the Racing Points were really quick’ – find out how Max Verstappen experienced his fight with Perez

From his perfect positioning at Turn 1 and the sweep of Curva Grande, to his out-braking of Verstappen at the Della Roggia chicane, the footage above shows just what a fine job Perez did, as he forced Verstappen to settle for P8 while claiming his second top-seven finish in as many races.

Meanwhile, Racing Point will have been especially thrilled by the strong result at the Temple of Speed, given that they’ve just signed Perez to a long-term contract at the team...