Vintage Verstappen dominates at Monza; McLaren engineer Norris-Piastri to secure P2 & P3; Leclerc P4, Hamilton P6 in difficult weekend for Ferrari at home race

For one race weekend in the countryside of Northern Italy on the occasion of Round 16 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, it seemed just like old times for four-time champ Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. Imperious on Saturday in setting the Monza lap-record en route to pole, Verstappen survived an early lap kerfuffle with McLaren rival Lando Norris in the Grand Prix that saw the Dutchman have to give up the lead after forcing Norris off track at the very start of the race. But mighty Max would not be denied this Sunday and he forcefully took the position back on Lap 4 with a perfectly gauged late-braking maneuver steaming into the first chicane. And despite being so early in the course of this 53-lap contest, once Verstappen regained the lead, it was lights out for any other aspirant on the day. In a vintage performance by Verstappen and in a Red Bull that more closely resembled the fearsome rocket that dominated the sport just a few years ago, Verstappen ran away from both McLarens with apparent ease, intuited that their overcut gamble would not thwart his pursuit of victory when he pitted some ten laps earlier than the Papaya duo eventually would, and then easily maintained his lead when Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri did finally come in for fresh rubber on Lap 46. And while McLaren denied to run that long first stint purposely to try and get an advantage by running their final short stint on Soft Pirellis in opposition to Verstappen’s older Lap 37 switch to Hards, it didn’t really work out and Verstappen headed the McLaren duo by a whopping 19.2 seconds when the checkers flew. It was Verstappen’s first victory since the other Grand Prix in Italy this year, Emilia-Romagna, way back in Round 7. Now, whether he and Red Bull can replicate this Monza resurgence at the very different animal that is Azerbaijan in a fortnight remains to be seen. But for one race weekend, at least, the Dutch king and his court were back in action.

Nip and tuck between Charles and Oscar at the start of the race ⚔️🍿#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/DDlIpJjjEv

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 8, 2025

McLaren, meanwhile, had a bit of a kissing your sister kind of experience here at Monza. Already surprised at their usually superior pace being bettered easily by Verstappen’s Red Bull, the team’s braintrust found themselves at pains to keep everything civil between their two gentlemanly pilots, Norris and Piastri. While their gamble to run a long first stint on Mediums and then make the late switch to Softs was a sound one in the face of Verstappen’s dominance and their own cushion to the runners behind them, things got complicated when they finally did call their drivers in. Running in third behind his teammate, Piastri was first in for service, with Norris being assured that despite staying out an extra lap, Piastri would play the team game and not fight it out via the undercut when they reemerged on track. But Norris’s stop was painfully slow with a sticky front left tire change costing him about four extra seconds stationary compared to his teammate and championship rival. So, Norris now emerged behind Piastri in P3 after all that time spent on pit lane. The team quickly ordered Piastri to swap back since the loss of position was no fault of Norris’s and they had all been down this road together in Hungary last year. With only the mildest grudging hesitation, Piastri ceded P2 back to Norris cleanly. Despite being told he was free to race after that, the young Aussie points-leader could never find the pace to really execute any sort of overtake in the final few laps of this fast moving race. With a lot of extra championship points in hand after Norris’s unfortunate mechanical DNF in Zadvoort last Sunday, Piastri could well afford to spot Norris three here at Monza.

Charles Leclerc was the best placed Ferrari in P4, the Prancing Horses never really in contention for a podium this year with that eventual lightning fast top three in front of them. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton did manage a very solid effort to work his way up from a penalty-induced tenth place start on the grid to P6 at the finish, but it was hardly a weekend to remember for the Scuderia or the hoards of loyal tifosi in the stands. Mercedes’ George Russell split the Ferraris in P6, while rookie Silver Arrows teammate got a confidence boosting result with a solid if unspectacular P9. Alexander Albon had an excellent drive for Williams to come home P7, while Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued his upward trajectory with a P8 finish. And Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar, yet another impressive rookie from this year’s bumper crop, had another superlative drive a week after his first podium in the Netherlands, willing himself from a pit lane start all the way into a points-paying P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two week’s time at the very entertaining Baku City Street Circuit in Azerbaijan. A horse of a very different color than flat-out Monza, it will be interesting to see if Verstappen and Red Bull can keep their Italian mojo working there or if it will be a return to McLaren’s mostly dominant form this season. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!