07/09/2025 16:20
Max Verstappen has won the Italian Grand Prix, taking his third
grand prix victory of the season. Verstappen controlled the race
for much of the 53 laps as he converted his pole position into a
win ahead of the two McLarens. Lando Norris claimed second place on
the road as he managed to take three points out of Oscar Piastri's
championship lead, with the latter crossing the line in third.
However, it came after a controversial team order call late in the
race, with McLaren opting to restore the positions after Norris
dropped behind due to a slow pit stop. There was to be no home
podium success for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc sitting as the
leading Italian car in fourth. A manic opening portion of laps
commenced with Norris getting the jump on Verstappen off the line,
which saw him briefly run onto the grass en route to Turn 1.
Verstappen skipped the first corner as he claimed he was forced
wide by his McLaren rival, before he was instructed to hand the
place back to Norris. Verstappen obliged and followed Norris for
another lap before launching an attack at Turn 1 at the start of
lap four, successfully reclaiming the lead. A little further back,
Piastri was having a battle with Leclerc as they swapped positions
several times before Piastri consolidated third on lap six. As the
pit stops approached, Verstappen continued to stretch out his lead
over the McLaren pair as he went in hunt of his third win of the
season. The first retirement of the race occurred on lap 25 of the
race, with Fernando Alonso being the victim. He returned to the pit
lane while reporting a suspension failure. Article continues below
the image. George Russell became the first of the front-runners to
make a pit stop on lap 28, before he was followed in one lap later
by team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes' rivals took their time
responding to the stop, with Ferrari's Leclerc becoming the next to
change his tyres on lap 34 on the hard tyres. A handful of laps
later, race-leader Verstappen opted he had enough of the medium
compound and switched to the hard tyre, briefly giving the race
lead back to Norris. Hamilton became the second Ferrari to pit on
the following lap, while further back in the pack, Carlos Sainz and
Oliver Bearman collided at Turn 4 as they battled outside the
points. Having run first and second for some time, McLaren
initiated their pit stops with Piastri peeling in first while
Norris continued on for one more lap. While Piastri's stop was a
slick 1.9 seconds, Norris was held for several seconds longer due
to a wheel gun issue, which saw him drop behind Piastri when he
emerged back onto the track. McLaren ordered the cars to swap back
around, with Norris reinstated in second place all the way to the
chequered flag. With Verstappen, Norris and Piastri completing the
top three, Ferrari were fourth and sixth with Leclerc and Hamilton
respectively. Lodged between the two red cars was Mercedes'
Russell. Alex Albon continued his strong season with a run to
eighth, while Antonelli took the chequered flag in eighth before
being demoted due to a five-second time penalty, gifting eighth to
Bortoleto. Taking the final point on offer was Isack Hadjar, who
rose to the top 10 after starting from the pit lane.
