Max Verstappen returned to winning ways at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, storming to victory in the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver controlled the race with pace and precision, finishing 19 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, while Kiwi Liam Lawson endured a bruising battle at the back, coming home 14th for Racing Bulls in what became the fastest Formula 1 race in history.
Qualifying Recap:
Saturday qualifying brought contrasting fortunes. For Lawson, it was another test of patience.
The Racing Bulls driver briefly sat in 11th with his banker lap, but as the track evolved, the times tumbled. His final effort looked promising until understeer at Lesmo 2 forced him wide. The lap was deleted for track limits, leaving him 19th and just 0.442s from Q2.
Teammate Isack Hadjar also exited in Q1, though a power unit change forced him to start from the pit lane. Pierre Gasly joined him for a pit lane start, effectively moving Lawson up two places on the grid to 17th.
At the front, Verstappen produced a Monza lap record of 1:18.792 to secure his first pole since Silverstone. McLaren’s Norris and Piastri slotted in behind, while Charles Leclerc sent Ferrari’s home crowd wild with fourth.
Lewis Hamilton, in his first Monza weekend as a Ferrari driver, qualified fifth but dropped to 11th after a penalty, elevating George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli to the third row.
Italian Grand Prix:
The tifosi roared as 19 cars lined up (Nico Hülkenberg retiring his Kick Sauber on the formation lap with a hydraulic failure).
Off the start, Verstappen and Norris went wheel to wheel into the first chicane. Verstappen cut across the inside kerb to avoid contact, but in doing so gained the lead.
“He put me on the grass and cut the corner!” Norris fumed over the radio.
Red Bull swiftly instructed Verstappen to hand the place back. Norris reclaimed the lead on Lap 2.
Behind them, Piastri and Leclerc traded blows, with the Ferrari briefly ahead before Piastri muscled back past into Turn 1.
At the start of Lap 4, Verstappen swept around the outside of Norris into Turn 1, giving himself the inside line for Turn 2 and reclaiming the race lead from the McLaren.
On Lap 5, the order read Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda and Antonelli.
Lawson, starting on softs, made early progress to 15th, while Hadjar began on hards from the pit lane.
Hamilton soon showed Ferrari muscle, overtaking Bortoleto for sixth at the Variante del Rettifilo. Further back, Hadjar locked up while trying to pass Franco Colapinto, cutting the chicane.
Lawson pitted as early as Lap 10, switching to hards with the soft tyre stint not working out for the Kiwi. He rejoined last, 19 seconds behind the pack.
By Lap 11, Verstappen had opened a 3.5s gap to Norris and extended it to over four seconds by Lap 17, pumping in fastest laps.
Sainz came under investigation for rejoining incorrectly at Turn 4, while Tsunoda pitted to cover Oliver Bearman’s Haas undercut, rejoining just ahead of Lawson.
Alonso and Bortoleto stopped on Lap 21, with the Spaniard narrowly rejoining ahead of Lawson. Bortoleto slotted in behind but soon capitalised on a Lawson lock-up into Turn 1 to regain the spot. Then disaster struck for Alonso, a front-right suspension failure at Ascari ended his race instantly.
Williams swapped Sainz and Alex Albon on Lap 26, while Russell boxed on Lap 27. At the same time, the Racing Bulls pair nearly came to blows.
Battling for track position, Lawson touched Tsunoda twice, once wheel-to-wheel into the chicane and again as he tucked in behind. Both ran wide, Lawson forced to hand the place back, leaving him last.
Russell, meanwhile, emerged from his stop on fresh hards and immediately set the fastest lap. Up front, Verstappen’s blistering front tyres signalled an impending stop, though he stretched his lead to over six seconds.
Hadjar’s stop on Lap 33 put him onto mediums, while Leclerc pitted for hards, rejoining in sixth. Verstappen finally stopped on Lap 38, bolting on hards and dropping behind both McLarens in third, 13s adrift of Piastri. But his pace advantage meant the lead was never truly in doubt.
As Verstappen closed relentlessly, the McLarens tried to hang on. With ten laps left, both Norris and Piastri were still running their starting mediums, banking on a safety car that never came.
McLaren finally blinked on Lap 46, pitting Piastri for softs. Norris followed a lap later, but disaster struck when a faulty wheel gun caused a slow 5.9s stop. What should have been track position ahead of Piastri became third place, two seconds behind his teammate.
Verstappen, meanwhile, had the lead and was streaking clear. McLaren ordered a swap, asking Piastri to let Norris through. Though clearly unhappy, the Australian complied, allowing Norris into second.
Behind them, Sainz tangled with Bearman at Turn 4. Both spun, with the stewards later penalising Bearman ten seconds. Hadjar took advantage to climb to 13th, eventually securing a hard-earned point in 10th.
Antonelli picked up a five-second penalty for erratic driving but still classified ninth, while Gasly and Stroll both suffered late, slow pit stops that dropped them out of contention.
When the chequered flag fell, Verstappen crossed the line 19 seconds clear of Norris, taking his third win of the season and his second in Italy after victory at Imola earlier this year.
Piastri completed the podium, ahead of Leclerc in fourth, Russell fifth, and Hamilton sixth in Ferrari colours, in front of the Tifosi crowd.
Albon secured seventh for Williams, Antonelli eighth, Bortoleto ninth and Hadjar 10th, giving Racing Bulls a small but valuable reward.
Lawson’s race never recovered after his early stop and clashes with Tsunoda. Despite sticking within a second of the Red Bull man for much of the second half, the Kiwi could not find a way through. He finished 14th, ahead of Esteban Ocon and Gasly, but out of the points.
For Verstappen, the day was all about domination. For McLaren, it was a podium double tinged with frustration. For Ferrari, Hamilton’s sixth and Leclerc’s fourth offered respectability but no glory at home.
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix also entered the record books as the fastest race in Formula 1 history, completed in just 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 23 seconds.
Formula 1 now pauses for a week before heading to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 19–21.
Header Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
