The 2025 Italian Grand Prix at Monza will be remembered not only as the fastest race in F1 history but also as a weekend defined by Verstappen’s domination, McLaren’s internal drama, Ferrari’s limits at home, and yet another rookie showcase. It was the “Temple of Speed” at its most chaotic and revealing.
Verstappen and Red Bull: Finding the Sweet Spot
From pole to flag, Max Verstappen was untouchable. His radio exchanges with Gianpiero Lambiase, laughing mid-race at McLaren’s swap, showed a driver in complete control, comfortable enough to treat Monza like a sim session at 300kph.
Red Bull’s advantage was foreshadowed in practice: while McLaren dominated Zandvoort the week before, Monza’s low-downforce nature shifted the balance. In FP2, Verstappen was only sixth, but the team made critical setup changes overnight, changes Verstappen himself pushed for, that transformed the car. By qualifying, he had the edge, beating both McLarens to pole. It was a reminder of how Red Bull’s adaptability, when they get it right, can still tilt the fight.
McLaren’s Pit Stop Meltdown and Team Orders
The flashpoint of Monza was McLaren’s 5.9-second pit stop for Lando Norris, once again on the cursed front-left. With a no-undercut agreement in place, Oscar Piastri was instructed to hand the position back despite running ahead on merit. The optics were brutal: Norris booed on the podium, Piastri left defending his professionalism, and McLaren scrambling with PR statements about “fairness.”
But the roots of the problem were visible in qualifying and practice. McLaren had raw pace: Norris set a new lap record at 1:20.901 in the race and topped FP3 on Saturday morning, but they couldn’t translate it into strategic execution. The team’s choice to keep both cars out longer on mediums was a gamble for a safety car that never came. In effect, the slow stop and the swap only amplified a structural weakness already hinted at in practice: McLaren were quick, but not flawless.
Ferrari at Home: Ceiling Reached
Ferrari’s Monza weekend began with hope, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both looked sharp in FP1, with Leclerc second only to Hamilton’s session-topping lap. The crowd buzzed, daring to believe in a podium push. But by FP3 and qualifying, the truth emerged: the Ferrari lacked the raw race pace to keep up with Red Bull or McLaren.
Leclerc’s early defense of P2 in the race was symbolic more than strategic. As he later admitted, Ferrari simply didn’t have the pace to fight over a full distance. P4 and P6 represented their ceiling, and while solid points kept them second in the Constructors’, the gulf to McLaren was unmistakable.
Mercedes and Antonelli’s Growing Pains
Mercedes looked tidy in FP2 and FP3, with Russell and Antonelli consistently in the top six, suggesting genuine podium contention. But qualifying exposed the limits: Russell could only manage fifth, Antonelli ninth. In the race, Russell delivered P5 but Antonelli slipped backwards and picked up another penalty. Toto Wolff called his race “underwhelming,” and while Antonelli’s raw pace was closer to Russell in qualifying than Hamilton was to Leclerc, inconsistency remains the bigger problem.
Rookie Showcase: Bortoleto and Hadjar
Gabriel Bortoleto’s P8 was another sign the rookie is outperforming expectations. Even a botched 4.0s pit stop and Sauber’s poor calls couldn’t derail him.
Hadjar’s P10 from the pit lane may have been even more impressive. His result stood in stark contrast to his anonymous qualifying, showing his racecraft and consistency. Between them, Bortoleto and Hadjar have exceeded the hype around Antonelli and Bearman, whose practice mistakes (Bearman’s spin at Turn 4 in FP3, for example) have often overshadowed their progress.
Alpine Anonymous, Williams Surging
Alpine were off the pace all weekend, stuck at the back in FP1 through qualifying, and finished 16th and 17th in the race. In contrast, Williams showed steady progression across the sessions: Carlos Sainz consistently inside the top 10 in practice, and Albon converting it into P7 on Sunday. Williams’ 2025 tally now surpasses their total points from 2018–2024 combined.
The First Laps, the Last Laps
The weekend’s storylines came full circle in the opening laps: Verstappen into the lead, Norris squeezed onto the grass, Leclerc holding position, and Piastri’s bold pass at Lesmo 1. These opening exchanges were foreshadowed by the close gaps seen in qualifying, where just two-tenths separated the McLarens from Verstappen’s pole.
The final laps added another twist: Norris set the new race lap record, Verstappen sealed victory with the largest margin of the season, and McLaren’s team-order controversy overshadowed what should have been another double podium celebration.
Records and Stats Galore
- Fastest race in F1 history: 1:13:24.325.
- Fastest qualifying lap: Verstappen, 1:18.79.
- Fastest race lap: Norris, 1:20.90, breaking Barrichello’s 2004 record.
- Verstappen tied Hamilton with 7 wins in Italy; Schumacher leads with 12.
- Championship standings: Piastri 324, Norris 293, Verstappen 230.
- Constructors: McLaren 617, Ferrari 280, Mercedes 260, Red Bull 239.
Conclusion
The buildup from practice to qualifying showed clear fault lines: Ferrari with early-session flashes but not enough race pace, Mercedes tidy in practice but ragged in execution, McLaren blistering fast but undone by pit lane errors, and Red Bull quietly perfecting the setup under Verstappen’s direction.
By Sunday, those trends crystallized into results: Verstappen dominant, McLaren conflicted, Ferrari capped, and rookies excelling. It was the fastest race ever run, but also one of the clearest illustrations of where every team stands as the 2025 season enters its decisive phase.