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Formula OneMax Verstappen returned to winning ways in the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, but it will be McLaren making the headlines once again. The reigning constructors' champions lost the race last year due to a strategic blunder, and their decision-making came under scrutiny on Sunday. A slow pit stop for Lando Norris had McLaren invoke team orders for Oscar Piastri to cede position to his title rival, inciting fans with their heavy-handed approach.
This was not McLaren's weekend in Qualifying, either. Verstappen snatched P1 with the fastest-ever pole position and started ahead of Norris from the front row. The two went wheel-to-wheel off the line, with Verstappen pushing the Briton to the grass. Norris held firm, though, taking the inside at the Rettifilo chicane to be ahead, but Verstappen cut the corner to retain the lead.
Already off to a controversial start, the radio messages inevitably followed. Norris called Verstappen an idiot, and Red Bull told their driver to give the position back to avoid a penalty. Further frustration came in the sister McLaren of Piastri, who fell behind Charles Leclerc in the opening corners. The Australian, however, fought back with a bold move around the outside of the first Lesmo to regain P3. But the positions would soon shift once more.
A four-car scrap into Rettifilo had Verstappen dutifully returning the lead to Norris as Leclerc battled by Piastri once more. Any thoughts that Verstappen only had single-lap pace to outqualify the McLarens but would lose out in the long runs soon fell away. He kept glued to Norris' rear wing as the leading pair opened a gap to Leclerc. A good run out of Parabolica started Lap 4 with another lead change, this time for good. Verstappen took to the outside to outbrake Norris and take P1, and soon opened a gap to the British hopeful.
While Norris fell back, his teammate fought forward. Leclerc's early speed quickly faded, much to the Tifosi's disappointment, and Piastri eased alongside with DRS down the pit straight. The Aussie was back in the podium positions by Lap 6, but already 3.5s adrift of Norris as he struggled to make an impression in the race.
Though Leclerc's cameo in the front was brief, the Italian fans still had the second Ferrari to cheer on. Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his first Monza weekend in scarlet, but had to undo a five-place grid penalty picked up from the Dutch GP. He gave the Tifosi plenty to cheer in the opening laps by taking positions on the opening lap and then overtaking Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto to reach P6.
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The race finally settled down as the Pirelli tyres proved highly durable. A mixture of Medium and Hard compounds throughout the grid saw most drivers getting past the halfway mark before stopping. Verstappen became the first of the podium contenders to swap tyres on Lap 38, taking a set of Hards to reach the end. The McLarens eventually followed suit eight laps later, possibly hoping for a Safety Car to aid them. But it was not the leading McLaren of Norris who stopped first.
Piastri peeled in to switch to the Softs for the remaining eight laps, and would benefit from the Pirelli's extra grip before Norris. The team confirmed to Norris that Piastri wouldn't undercut to pass him, and they were just covering off Leclerc, who stopped earlier. That, however, proved a false promise. Norris stopped later, but a wheel gun issue on his front left had him stationary in the pit lane for critical extra seconds before he was left to return to the track.
That pit lane time loss handed Piastri P2, who sped by on the straight. Initially told that he was free to race Norris on the exit, Piastri was then instructed to return the position after the pit stop error. A brief argument about slow stops being part of racing followed, but Piastri complied and let Norris through with five laps remaining. He didn't have the late-race speed to go wheel-to-wheel after, and he might one day rue the six-point swing in favour of his only challenger to the 2025 crown.
Booing from the crowd under the podium expressed their thoughts on the team orders, and even Verstappen laughed over the radio when he learned of the situation. It leaves Piastri still in the championship lead, but by 31 points instead of 37. McLaren will head to the Azerbaijan GP in a fortnight under scrutiny for their strategic choices as F1 2025 enters its final third. For Italy, though, Verstappen is the one smiling and has another record to his name; he won the fastest race in F1 history, completed in just 1 hour and 13 minutes
