It was a masterclass from Max Verstappen as the Red Bull driver took a commanding win over Lando Norris to be victorious at the Italian Grand Prix, Monza.
Lando Norris, who had given up his place in the McLaren pitstop queue to teammate Oscar Piastri after the two went long into the race on medium tyres, suffered a slow stop – prompting McLaren to restore the previous order when Piastri went past into second.
For a time, Norris had led the race after fighting with polesitter Verstappen off the line. Verstappen had been asked to give up the lead to Norris as the McLaren driver felt he was pushed towards grass into Turn 1, but ultimately held the inside line. As Verstappen preserved the lead by skipping across the first chicane, he did ceded control to Norris at the start of the next lap.
However, Verstappen remained within DRS range of Norris, and got a run at the start of lap four to return the favour into the opening corner. From there, Norris dropped back to the one-second buffer as Verstappen began to put together a series of quick laps to build a break over the field.
The defending champion continued to stretch the gap over Norris over the subsequent 30 laps, around a six-second lead and maintaining that gap as Norris tried to find a way back into the mix.
Verstappen made his single stop at the end of lap 37 to trade his aged mediums for a set of hards, while McLaren attempted to go longer in an effort to gain on a safety car and take softs late on.
However, this plan did not appear to be forthcoming. Norris offered teammate Piastri the chance to stop first for softs on lap 45, which proved to be a bad call as Lando then endured a slow stop (front left) on lap 46.
McLaren then elected to reverse the positions, noting last year’s Budapest race in its message to Piastri – who offered some resistance but he did obliged in letting Norris pass.
The decision to go long helped Verstappen extend his net lead, as he was given full control to extend his advantage on the hard tyres – ending with a 19.2 seconds gap over Norris.
With Norris ahead of Piastri, the McLaren drivers finished behind Verstappen on the podium after their switch of position, ahead of Charles Leclerc, who had successfully converted his fourth-placed grid position.
Leclerc had got past Piastri at the start of the race, although had been dispatched again by the championship leader on that opening lap as he went back past at the first Lesmo. Charles got back past on the following lap, forcing Piastri to take a more patient approach – and he duly repassed Leclerc on the sixth lap.
George Russell was fifth over Lewis Hamilton, who recovered to sixth after dealing with a five-place grid penalty for a yellow-flag infringement last week at Zandvoort.
Alex Albon went long and claimed seventh, as Gabriel Bortoleto moved up to eighth with Andrea Kimi Antonelli given a five-second penalty for driving erratically. Isack Hadjar completed the top ten over Carlos Sainz, who suffered a Turn 4 contact with Ollie Bearman – both drivers quickly got going again.
So congratulations to Max Verstappen in winning at Monza. After setting a new track record in qualifying, the four-time world champion drove a commanding race to finish in P1.
Italian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:13:24.325
2 Lando Norris McLaren +19.207s
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +21.351s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +25.624s
5 George Russell Mercedes +32.881s
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +37.449s
7 Alexander Albon Williams +50.537s
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +58.484s
9 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +59.762s
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +63.891s
11 Carlos Sainz Williams +64.469s
12 Oliver Bearman Haas +79.288s
13 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +80.701s
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +82.351s
15 Esteban Ocon Haas +1 lap
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
17 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1 lap
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin DNF
Nico Hulkenberg Sauber DNS
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, leading home McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after a dramatic start and end to proceedings at Monza.
Verstappen and Norris went wheel-to-wheel almost immediately when the lights went out, getting close to each other down the start/finish straight before the Dutchman skipped the first chicane to keep the lead.
While Verstappen gave up the position to Norris at the start of the second lap to avoid a potential penalty, he was soon back on his rival’s tail and took only a couple more tours to reclaim P1 and surge clear.
From there, Verstappen appeared to have everything under control, managing the gap back to both McLarens across their opening stints, pitting earlier than Norris and Piastri to strengthen that advantage and then cruising to the chequered flag.
While Verstappen’s run to the finish was relatively serene, amid repeated messages from the Red Bull pit wall to avoid any unnecessary risks, drama developed at McLaren when a slow pit stop for Norris allowed team mate Piastri through for second.
Given the unusual circumstances, McLaren asked Piastri to move aside for Norris, after which they would be free to race. It was an instruction the championship leader initially questioned, but ultimately obeyed, thanks to a well-orchestrated swap.
Piastri settled for third, meaning his points margin over Norris came down from 34 to 31, with Charles Leclerc a few seconds further back in the lead Ferrari – the Tifosi’s dreams of a home win, or even a podium, not materialising this year.
George Russell delivered another strong drive aboard his Mercedes to finish where he started in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from his five-place grid penalty to cross the line sixth and at least give the Scuderia a solid double points finish.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-charges-to-italian-gp-win-over-norris-and-piastri.6J7R9E9tzOI9Asy6HBmoVf
Max Verstappen won the 2025 Italian Grand Prix after starting from pole, but McLaren was a strong force behind the Red Bull. However, towards the end of the race, team orders between the papaya-coloured drivers added a sour taste to what was an impressive race from the two.
With just seven laps remaining, Lando Norris suffered a slow 5.9-second pitstop due to issues with the front wheel not tightening properly. This delay allowed Oscar Piastri, after pitting a lap earlier, to undercut his team-mate – something the team hadn’t planned.
The Woking outfit immediately instructed the drivers to swap positions, promoting Norris to second place behind race leader Max Verstappen. Cue references to last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Piastri responded with frustration over the radio, but quickly made the swap. “I mean, we said that a slow pitstop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here,” the Australian said. At the race end, he reflected briefly on the race: “A bit of a tough one. Once the rear calmed down a bit then it was all right. Bit lively through the race. Thanks for the effort. Not the easiest of weekends. Yeah.”
Norris was silent after his race engineer Will Joseph apologised over the team radio.
“Lando, apologies for the pitstop,” he said, with no response returning from his British driver.
Verstappen was quick to comment on the incident as his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase gave him an update.
“Ha! Just because he had a slow stop?” Verstappen responded, before Lambiase advised: “It’s not our business, but I guess it keeps it fair between the drivers in terms of the championship. You focus on the road ahead please.”
Talking after the race, Norris commented on the orders.
“No idea [with the pitstop]. I felt like I was there quite a long time. Every now and then we make mistakes as a team and today was one of them.
“I did everything I could today. I couldn’t do a lot more. I tried to fight against Max. We had a good race and he came out on top.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/the-blunt-mclaren-radio-message-that-flipped-p2-at-italian-gp/10757521/
Lando Norris has made it clear that he and McLaren would have done “exactly the same thing” if the roles were reversed after team mate Oscar Piastri obeyed team orders in the final stages of the Italian Grand Prix.
In a race dominated by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who pitted earlier to swap his starting set of medium tyres for hards, McLaren left it until the closing laps to bring Norris and Piastri in and give them soft rubber.
However, following Piastri’s smooth stop on Lap 45 of 53, a slower service for Norris next time around meant the Briton rejoined the track in third, giving the McLaren pit wall a headache to try and resolve.
McLaren quickly got on the radio and asked Piastri to give up the position, which the Australian ultimately did after a reminder of the situation at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix and being told that the pair could then race to the finish.
Norris had enough in hand over Piastri to maintain second to the chequered flag, reducing his team mate’s championship advantage from 34 points to 31, but there were inevitably questions for all involved after the race.
“It’s what we decided as a team beforehand,” Norris explained. “If it was the other way around, we would have done exactly the same thing.
“It’s not how I want things to go… I don’t make these things, I don’t plan for these things, I don’t want to win or be second or third or whatever like this, but it’s the most fair thing, I think. If I was behind and Oscar had the same thing, I would have to give up my position.
“It’s not my fault, it’s not Oscar’s fault, it was a team mistake, which happens every now and then, and that cost me. I know it doesn’t look [like] the best thing. I don’t want it, but it’s the most fair at the end of the day for driver against driver.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/its-the-most-fair-way-norris-gives-his-take-on-late-race-position-swap-with.2vzk7zYudmbEqNC1eE0ADb
Oscar Piastri lost out on a chance to extend his championship lead at the Italian Grand Prix as he followed late team orders to allow Lando Norris to retain second place.
The Australian went into the weekend with a 34-point advantage over his papaya teammate, but immediately found himself on the back foot as he struggled to break into the top spot throughout practice.
Qualifying then saw him take third place behind Norris, which is where he remained for the majority of the Italian Grand Prix as he focused on managing his tyres around the high-speed circuit.
However, an agonisingly slow pitstop for the Briton handed Piastri an unexpected P2 on track after he had changed onto fresh tyres first – this didn’t last for long as he was ordered to hand the position back, prompting him to remark: “Is a slow pitstop part of racing?”.
Asked after the race to reflect on the decision, he said: “There were clearly valid reasons for swapping back. Lando qualified ahead and was ahead for the whole race, so I get that. There’s just some things we need to discuss.”
After enduring a long stint on medium tyres, the team asked Norris whether he would prefer to pit before or after his team mate. He agreed to go second as long as there was no threat of the Australian undercutting him, which is exactly what happened when an error led to a 5.9s stop when Norris swapped for soft tyres.
Piastri reflected on the strategy choice, concluding: “We went so long that the soft seemed like a good tyre to put on, and we were just staying out for Safety Cars if we got any, but eventually Max got back into our pit window so there wasn’t any point staying out much longer. A little ‘inchident’ at the end!”
His lead has now been cut to 31 points over Norris with nine rounds of the season remaining, and the tough weekend in Monza has given him plenty of points to focus on in his ongoing mission to claim his first title.
“I think as a team we just didn’t have amazing pace today,” he summarised. “I think the first part of the race, we were struggling with balance quite a bit and then towards the end of the mediums stint, things actually came good.
“I was happy and the pace was really strong, so yeah, some good things to learn there. Maybe not the best opening lap or two either, which didn’t really help things, but nothing too much to complain about.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-concedes-there-were-valid-reasons-for-mclaren-team-orders-in-monza.fCgwRC1rwwqj0ZxjYrBJP
Max Verstappen praised his Red Bull team for their execution of an “unbelievable weekend” after surging to victory in the Italian Grand Prix, with the Dutchman admitting that he was “flying” following some drama at the start.
Having lined up in pole position, Verstappen initially faced a challenge from Lando Norris for the lead before skipping the chicane to hold the position. The World Champion then gave the place back at the start of the second tour, but subsequently retook P1 just a couple of laps later.
Verstappen was unchallenged from there onwards as he stretched out a gap to keep the McLarens at bay, going on to clinch the win by 19 seconds from Norris.
Reflecting on his drive to victory at Monza, Verstappen said: “It was a great day for us. Of course Lap 1 was a bit unlucky, but after that we were flying and that was for me really enjoyable.
“We managed the pace quite well throughout that first stint, and I think we pitted at the right time, and with the hard tyres at the end you can push a bit more – they’re a bit more resilient.
“Fantastic execution by everyone from the whole team. I think the whole weekend we were on it and it’s super enjoyable to win here.”
Pushed on whether he still felt it was possible to win after handing the lead back in the opening stages, Verstappen added: “I could see that their medium pace was very good.
“I just needed to settle in, there was a lot of fighting going on. And then I could see the pace was there – quite quickly we were back in the lead.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/we-were-flying-verstappen-hails-unbelievable-weekend-as-he-takes-victory-at.RzGKlUTCAcnUzCR1Jw42A