Solid in practice, peerless in qualifying, and unstoppable on race day, Max Verstappen was head and shoulders above the rest as he took victory at Monza. His third win of the season and his first since Imola back in May. Verstappen looked to be under threat from a fast-starting Lando Norris off the line, but after squeezing his rival onto the grass and cutting the first chicane after a first corner tussle, Verstappen was ordered to give the place back.
Undeterred, the reigning world champion repassed Norris on lap four and never looked back. Save for a brief period at the start of his second stint, where he was vulnerable to a possible safety car, Verstappen controlled proceedings with the same confidence and composure that defined his most dominant campaigns. He eventually came home 19.207s clear of second-place Norris, the largest winning margin of the season so far. Verstappen later praised his team’s effort (particularly team principal Laurent Mekies, as this marks Red Bull’s first win under his leadership) and called it “a great day for us”. It may mean very little in the broader context of the championship, but this win has served as a reminder of Verstappen’s brilliance.
Behind him, Lando Norris had a largely uneventful race. The Brit opted for a lengthy first stint, only coming in on lap 47, one lap after his teammate Oscar Piastri. However, a slow stop for Norris meant he rejoined the race behind his teammate. An operational error that had many casting their minds back to last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren ordered the drivers to swap positions and, after voicing his displeasure and describing Norris’ slow stop as “part of racing”, Piastri obliged on lap 49.
After losing jostling for position with Charles Leclerc on laps one and two, the Piastri eventually made it stick with a bold move around the outside of turn one on lap six. The championship leader maintained third but was never able to make any serious inroads into his teammate’s advantage. Piastri later admitted to not being on par with Norris all weekend.
After losing out to Piastri, Charles Leclerc had a steady run to fourth and did well to resist George Russell’s early advances. Russell was unable to keep pace with the Ferrari and had to settle for fifth, his 13th top five finish of the season.
After being handed a five-place grid penalty for failing to acknowledge yellow flags during his reconnaissance lap at Zandvoort, Lewis Hamilton completed a credible recovery drive to sixth after passing Antonelli, Alonso, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto in quick succession. The seven-time world champion later regretted not attempting an undercut on Russell but nevertheless described his performance as “solid”.
Behind him, Alex Albon made up for an underwhelming Saturday with seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto’s great form carried over into the race, as he rose to sixth during the opening exchanges and briefly hounded Russell for P5. Eventually, Bortoleto came home eighth for his fourth points finish of the season.
After receiving a late race penalty for erratic driving, Kimi Antonelli hung on to take ninth, while Isack Hadjar rebounded from a first-ever Q1 exit with tenth.
A collision with Ollie Bearman on lap 41 put an end to Carlos Sainz’s prospects as he could only manage 11th ahead of Bearman, Tsunoda, Lawson, Ocon, Gasly, Colapinto, and Stroll.
Fernando Alonso looked set for a points finish until his suspension failed on lap 26, while Nico Hulkenberg failed to make the start due to a hydraulic issue on the formation lap.
With 31 points in hand, Piastri is still the odds-on favourite for the championship. But with eight races remaining, it would be foolish to write Norris off.
