Max Verstappen dominated Formula 1's Italian Grand Prix, while late pitstop drama for Lando Norris led to McLaren ordering Oscar Piastri to let his team-mate back past.
Verstappen ended up racing away from the McLarens in a performance far more in line with his dominant 2023 campaign than the 2025 season that McLaren has largely dominated, bar two hard-fought victories for Verstappen at Suzuka and Imola.
But McLaren will steal the headlines for the unexpected drama that unfolded behind Verstappen.
Verstappen was in a comfortable lead when he switched from mediums to hards on lap 38 of 53.
The McLarens behind him, led by Norris, opted for soft tyres several laps later with Piastri pitting first - as suggested by Norris - to protect his third place from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Norris pitted one lap later but had a slow 5.9-second pitstop and lost second position to Piastri.
McLaren then ordered Piastri to let Norris back through on the basis that Piastri had been given preferential pitstop timing because he was under threat from Leclerc - though it was the slow pitstop that doomed Norris, rather than the timing of the pitstop.
Piastri wasn’t impressed with the decision, saying over the team radio: “We said that a slow pitstop was part of racing. So I don’t really get what’s changed here.
“But if you really want to do it, then I’ll do it.”
Piastri did make the switch and wasn’t able to do anything to take second place back thereafter, with the McLarens free to race after the swap.
Verstappen led Norris over the line by 19.2s in the end.
First-lap drama
Verstappen faced a big challenge from Norris at the start of the race, with the McLaren driver surviving a brush with the grass on the run to Turn 1 to get his car down the inside of Verstappen’s Red Bull at the first chicane.
Norris took the corner with Verstappen cutting the chicane to keep the lead.
Red Bull quickly told Verstappen to give the race lead up on the very next lap into the first chicane, but Norris couldn’t pull away.
It only took until lap four for Verstappen to drive back past Norris around the outside of the same corner to retake the lead of the race.
LAP 4/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 7, 2025
Verstappen retakes the lead!! #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/bInNTaLkR2
Verstappen was unassailable thereafter, and his victory never looked under threat.
No home podium for Ferrari
Ferrari never looked to have the pace to challenge for the podium with Leclerc fourth.
He was third in the early stages of the race ahead of Piastri but he soon lost that and then ended up having to keep George Russell’s Mercedes at bay in the first stint.
Russell ended up fifth ahead of the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, who mounted a decent recovery from 10th following his five-place grid penalty carried over from the Dutch GP.
Alex Albon drove an excellent race from 14th to seventh, which included a move on Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes in the latter part of the race.
Antonelli picked up a five-second time penalty for “erratic driving” in his defence against Albon, dropping him from eighth to ninth and giving Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber an extra position.
Isack Hadjar drove from the pitlane to the final points-paying position in 10th.
He benefitted from Carlos Sainz and Ollie Bearman colliding in the second chicane, with Bearman judged to be at fault by the stewards.
That meant a 10-second time penalty, but that didn’t change his 12th place finishing position.
Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th in the second Red Bull, 80.7s behind Verstappen and only just ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, with whom he had a run-in that led to Lawson giving Tsunoda the place back.
Esteban Ocon also picked up an in-race penalty - a five-second time penalty - for pushing Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin off the track into the Variante chicane. He finished one lap down in 15th place.
Fernando Alonso was on course for a points finish before the suspension on his Aston Martin broke when he was running over the kerbs exiting the Ascari chicane.
Nico Hulkenberg didn’t even get to start the race as he was told to pit his Sauber to retire on the formation lap, with a terminal hydraulic problem.
