Max Verstappen dominated the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, crossing the Monza finish line ahead of McLaren’s title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, capping a weekend filled with speed and drama.
The victory marked Verstappen’s first since May and his third of the season, following a sensational qualifying session in which the Red Bull star set the fastest lap in Formula 1 history at the legendary Italian circuit to secure pole position.
“That was unbelievable, guys! Well done, everyone,” Verstappen said over team radio. “We executed that really well. What an incredible weekend. We can be really proud of that.”
Norris finished second, nearly 20 seconds behind Verstappen, narrowing his gap to Piastri in the championship standings to 31 points with eight races remaining. He had started the day 34 points behind the Australian driver, who was unhappy after he was ordered to let his teammate past toward the end of the race.
The switch came after Norris had a slow pit stop, which appeared to put his title chances further in jeopardy when he came out behind his teammate. McLaren ordered Piastri to let the British driver past, which he did despite grumbling about the decision on team radio.
“I felt like I was there for quite a long time,” Norris said. “Every now and then we make mistakes as a team, and this was one of them.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had solid performances at the team’s home race. Cheered on by the passionate, red-clad tifosi, Leclerc finished fourth, while Hamilton surged through the field at the start to cross the line in sixth after starting 10th following a five-place grid penalty.
Norris was eager to rebound from a disastrous Dutch Grand Prix, where he retired with a rare engine problem. Starting from second at Monza, he tussled with Verstappen from the outset and was forced off into the grass at the first corner.
“I always know it is going to be a good fight with Max, and it was,” Norris said. “One of those weekends where we are a bit slower, but a good fight, and I enjoyed it.”
Verstappen briefly gave up his position but reclaimed the lead at the start of lap four, diving past Norris into turn one. From there, it was almost a procession to victory.
“It was a great day for us. Of course, lap 1 was a bit unlucky, but after that we were flying, and that was really enjoyable,” Verstappen said. He is third in the standings but 94 points behind Piastri and is unlikely to extend his run of four straight titles this year.
“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. We’ll go step by step, race by race, but for us, this was an unbelievable weekend.”
Verstappen briefly fell behind the McLarens after pitting on lap 38 but retook the lead when Piastri was brought in on lap 46, followed by Norris a lap later.
“We went so long, so the soft tires seemed like a good choice,” Piastri said. “We were staying out for safety cars if we got any. A little incident at the end, but it’s okay.”
Hamilton finished just behind his former Mercedes teammate George Russell, with Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar rounding out the top 10.
Antonelli initially crossed the line in eighth but dropped a place because of a five-second penalty for contact with Albon.
