Verstappen crushes Monza as McLaren trips on team orders

Max Verstappen wrestled back control of the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, converting pole into his third win of the 2025 Formula 1 season, September 7.

Verstappen was forced to hand back the lead on Lap 1 after muscling Norris onto the grass at Rettifilo, prompting the Briton’s exasperated radio, “What’s this idiot doing? He put me in the grass.”

By Lap 4, the reigning champion had reasserted himself with a decisive move into Turn 2, while Oscar Piastri found himself locked in a bruising contest with Charles Leclerc as George Russell lurked in fifth.

Early attrition saw Nico Hülkenberg retire on the formation lap and Fernando Alonso later bow out with suspension failure, while Esteban Ocon picked up a five-second penalty for forcing Lance Stroll off the circuit.

By Lap 15, Verstappen had stretched his lead to four seconds over Norris, with Piastri a further six adrift and rookie Kimi Antonelli charging into the points after dispatching Yuki Tsunoda.

The pit cycle fractured the order as Tsunoda triggered the stops on Lap 20, Alonso’s race imploded with a botched service before his mechanical failure, and Mercedes committed Russell and Hamilton to the hard-tyre strategy by Lap 29.

The Dutch driver pitted on Lap 38 for hards, briefly conceding track position to the McLaren pair, who extended their stints to gamble on tyre offset.

Drama struck at Ferrari as Leclerc questioned pit wall timing, rejoining mired behind Alex Albon, while chaos unfolded further back with Oliver Bearman penalized for spinning Carlos Sainz and Antonelli sanctioned for erratic driving against Albon.

McLaren’s intra-team tension boiled over in the final stint after a slow stop dropped Norris behind Piastri, only for the Australian to be instructed to cede the place under team orders.

Norris complied to push clear in clean air as Verstappen surged back into an unassailable lead, and the race closed with Red Bull’s champion flanked by the papaya duo on the Monza podium.

Leclerc salvaged fourth ahead of Russell and Hamilton, while Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Antonelli, and Isack Hadjar completed the points-paying positions.