F1 Italian Grand Prix 2025 Recap: Max Verstappen eases to a dominating win

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen converted his record pole to a commanding win at the 2025 F1 Italian Grand Prix, registering one of his most dominating races of the season.

The McLaren duo was unable to trouble the Dutchman barring the opening four laps; Lando Norris finished second ahead of his teammate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen’s win was also a historic one: it was the quickest race in Formula One history, finishing in an hour and 13 minutes. 

Pole sitter Max Verstappen led 19 cars off the line as Sauber asked Nico Hülkenberg to retire the car at the end of the formation lap. The Dutchman had his elbows out immediately as Lando Norris got a better start than him. Verstappen pushed Norris onto the grass heading into the first turn before having to cut the corner to keep his first place.

Behind them, Charles Leclerc got a strong start as well, picking off Oscar Piastri for third place. Verstappen was instructed by his team to give the place to Norris, who inherited the lead of the race on Lap 2, while Piastri and Leclerc fought it out at each corner; the Monégasque managed to hold on to P3.

Verstappen regained the lead of the race on Lap 4, breezing past Norris heading into Turn 1. While there was constant action at the front, Lewis Hamilton, who was hampered due to a five-place grid penalty in qualifying, was up to P7 from P10 by Lap 5.

Piastri and Leclerc’s battle continued as the championship leader squeezed through the inside of the Ferrari driver to retake P3 on Lap 6 at the first corner. Verstappen, meanwhile, had extended his lead at the top to over two seconds by the seventh lap, looking set to drop the McLaren pair and the rest of the pack behind. 

By Lap 15, Verstappen was almost five seconds clear of Norris, looking in a league of his own. Leclerc in fourth was keeping George Russell at bay, while Hamilton was behind his former Mercedes teammate in P6, with the Ferrari drivers looking to provide some joy to the home fans.

On Lap 25, Fernando Alonso suffered a suspension failure, becoming the second retiree of the race after what was turning out to be a strong weekend for him. 

Verstappen continued to ease at the front, maintaining a healthy lead of over five seconds, with neither Norris nor Piastri able to match him.

Red Bull called Verstappen in for his stop on Lap 38, switching him to the hard compound. He re-joined in third place, ahead of Hamilton, who was yet to stop. Verstappen was 19 seconds behind Norris, who inherited the lead of the race, with Piastri five seconds behind him.

The following lap, Ferrari called in Hamilton for his first stop. The veteran Brit came out in P9, while his teammate, Charles Leclerc, put in the fastest lap on the track.

On Lap 41, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz came together. Sainz turned into the Haas driver, resulting in both spinning and going off track for a short period before re-joining the race. Verstappen, on the other hand, was putting in the fastest laps of the race every lap.

Lap 45 saw Piastri come in for his first stop, while Norris — who was yet to stop — continued to lead the race, with Verstappen eight seconds behind him. Norris was called in for his stop the following lap, which saw Verstappen move to P1. A slow stop for Norris further allowed Piastri to move to P2, though McLaren asked Piastri to give back the place to Norris, despite the Australian being the quicker of the two.

Despite the swapping of places, neither McLaren driver ended up anywhere close to Verstappen, who stormed to his third win of the season. Norris finished second with some help from his team, with Piastri in third. Leclerc finished fourth ahead of Russell, Hamilton, Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and Isack Hadjar in that order. Antonelli was later handed a five-second penalty, which dropped him out of the points.

For Red Bull, this is a statement win. If they can keep their challenger competitive like they did here in Monza, they might just be able to push McLaren for the remainder of the season.

The F1 grid will return to racing in two weeks’ time in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.