The 2025 Formula One season resumed in style last week, with an eventful race in Zandvoort seeing Oscar Piastri increase his championship lead after yet another win. Home hero Max Verstappen also had a strong outing, while it was a weekend to forget for Lando Norris and Ferrari.
This week, the Scuderia head home for the Italian Grand Prix. At Monza, they’ll look to bounce back in front of their loving Tifosi.
For the 2025 F1 Italian Grand Prix, here are our preview and predictions.
It was a disappointing return after the summer break for Ferrari. They have been unable to capitalise on Red Bull’s struggles and build a gap between themselves and the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes. After an average first half of the season, which saw Charles Leclerc’s second-place finish in Monaco being their best result, Ferrari would’ve hoped to revitalise themselves after the break and come out all guns blazing.
That, though, wasn’t the case. On a weekend where Mercedes had one car outside the top ten and McLaren had one retiree, Ferrari were unable to take advantage and suffered a double DNF. Leclerc suffered an engine issue late in the race, while Lewis Hamilton, who is yet to get to grips with his new machinery, continued to struggle and had an unusual driver error that saw him crash out early on.
It is not all gloom and doom for the Scuderia, though. At home, with the Tifosi behind them, they’ll have that extra motivation. While they might have suffered a double DNF in Zandvoort, they should have strong race pace. At the iconic Temple of Speed, Ferrari are the dark horses; expect Leclerc and Hamilton to fare well.
Pole position prediction: Oscar Piastri / Charles Leclerc
Race winners prediction: McLaren / Ferrari
The first half of the season witnessed one of the tightest championship battles in a long time, with the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris going blow for blow. Piastri’s consistency saw him head into the summer break at the top of the table, with his teammate just behind him.
That gap, though, increased in Piastri’s favour after last weekend. It was a race to forget for Norris, whose engine gave up on him and forced him to leave Zandvoort with no points. More importantly, it was his championship rival and teammate who won the race.
Piastri’s win has increased the championship table gap between the two to 34 points; the Australian is now in pole position to take the Drivers’ title. With nine races left, and given the calm and composed manner in which the 24-year-old has gone about his business this season, it looks unlikely that he will be dislodged from the top of the table.
For Norris, it’s an uphill battle, one that will probably go down to the very last race of the season. He comes into the Italian race weekend with a ton of pressure on his back to perform. That said, he is one of the more talented drivers out there and will not make it any easier for his teammate.
While McLaren seem to have locked in the Constructors’ title already, with the three teams behind them in a bracket of their own, the lower-midfield battle is turning out to be a tight, scrappy affair. The likes of Williams, Aston Martin, VCARB, Sauber, Haas, and Renault are all involved in a scrap for the fifth position.
Racing Bulls, in particular, have been one of the biggest gainers this year. The Italian team are currently seventh in the table, two points behind Aston Martin and 20 behind Williams in fifth. They had a particularly stunning weekend in Zandvoort, where rookie Isack Hadjar — in his debut season — picked up his maiden podium with a P3 finish.
It wasn’t just Hadjar’s podium in Zandvoort; the general consistency shown by Red Bull’s sister team has made them strong contenders for that fifth place. Given Hadjar and Liam Lawson have been scoring points regularly, heading to Monza, they’ll be high on confidence.
Monza is a special track for Racing Bulls, as both of their wins (during their Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri days) came here — through Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and Pierre Gasly in 2020. What also works in their favour is the race pace they showed in Zandvoort. Hadjar had little to no difficulty in keeping the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers behind him. Therefore, in front of a home crowd, VCARB should be in for another strong weekend.
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza / Monza Circuit
Venue: Monza, Italy
Practice Session 1 time: 17:00 IST, September 5, 2025
Practice Session 2 time: 20:30 IST, September 5, 2025
Practice Session 3 time: 16:00 IST, September 6, 2025
Qualifying time: 19:30 IST, September 6, 2025
Main race time: 18:30 IST, September 7, 2025
Where to watch: F1 TV Pro / FanCode
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