Italian Grand Prix Grid Walk: Max The Great v Best of The Rest
F1 NewsSunday, 07 September 2025 at 13:11
Anyone who doubted that Max Verstappen is one of the greats of Formula 1 got a rude awakening on Saturday, when the Red Bull ace stormed around the iconic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza at record speed, robbing his rivals of pole position at the hallowed venue.
It was Mega Max. It was Ultra Max. It was Super Max. Fiittingly, in Qualifying yesterday, Verstappen delivered the fastest lap ever not only at Monza but in Formula 1 history, in not considered the best car on the grid by a margin. Let that sink in!
This is why we watch the sport with such awe, witnessing one of Formula 1's greatest sons at work. It is marvellous, it is beautiful, because Verstappen is not just checkmating his rivals, he is beating arguably the best Formula 1 grid in recent memory. A collection of driver talent like never before during a single era of our sport.
Less than half a second separated the top seven on the timesheets on Saturday, a testament to how close the cars are and how good the drivers are. They are all fantastic, bar a few, but none currently possess the ability to do what Verstappen does in a car.
Privately and publicly, drivers past and present are in awe of him. Post-qualifying comments from the greats we admire tell the story: like us, ordinary fans and pundits, left shaking our heads as we witness the four-time F1 World Champion raising the bar when no one expected him to.
When in doubt, bet on Max
Before the session started, I could not, for the life of me, pick a favourite for pole. Too close to call on the evidence of practice. Thus, when in doubt, bet on Max, and once again, that formula worked.
After their dominant one-two at Zandvoort, smart money before the Italy trip would have been on McLaren. But as practice progressed, it became clear they were not as speedy as they had been in recent races.
In contrast, for Monza, Verstappen dialled in the Red Bull through FP1 and FP3, finding a sweetspot, keeping it under wraps and then extracting everything he could from the package when it mattered. Total ambush. Classic Max! One has to believe that if any other driver had been in that car, it would have been a McLaren lockout.
Among the McLaren boys, it was the usual seesaw in qualifying. Despite a scrappy session, Norris showed his maturity with two special laps: one to keep him in Q2, and another at the very end, when he pipped Piastri. It was a class show by the Briton.
But Verstappen made sure the Red Bull was on top with his scintillating effort. Norris will start alongside him, with Piastri behind the #1 car in P3. Local hero and last year’s winner Charles Leclerc lines up P4 for Ferrari, once again seeking to delight the tifosi by turning P4 on the grid into victory - just as he did in 2024.
Ferrari victory at Monza today?
Be sure, Leclerc will fancy his chances and will be in the thick of the Turn 1 battle. The Monegasque once again outpaced Lewis Hamilton who ended P5 on the timing screens but who lines up on row five after a grid penalty.
Worth mentioning, Piero Ferrari once said: "For the Scuderia to win at Monza is like winning the World Championship." No pressure today then!
Row three is all Mercedes, with George Russell in P5 and rookie Kimi Antonelli impressing with P6 in his home race after a scruffy practice cost him track time. The team leader is capable of springing a surprise as he did in Canada. For the rookie, a podium would blow the roof of Monza, no doubt, but a very long shot. Staying in the points would be a fair target for a driver who has scored one point in his last five outings.
I believe, from the above-mentioned top six, three of them will likely end up on the podium. What about the top step? When in doubt, bet Max!
Behind them, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto again put his hand up for “rookie of the year” with another strong qualifying to claim P6, starting alongside Fernando Alonso, who also happens to be his mentor and manager. Master and student side by side on row four is poetic. And, of course, once again, the veteran Spaniard destroyed his beleaguered teammate, Lance Stroll.
Yuki Tsunoda heads row five in P9, which is a better showing for Red Bull's number two, who at least made it into Q3 and starts ahead of the Racing Bulls for a change.
Hamilton will line up his Ferrari in P10 due to his penalty. Nevertheless, it was a better performance by the Ferrari driver vis-à-vis his teammate Leclerc. But the 'demotion' leaves him with work to do today. Had he started higher, a podium would have been a realistic goal for the five-time Monza winner, making his debut at the venue in Red.
Racing Bulls were disappointing, and Stroll...
Beyond the top five rows, it was the usual suspects, with no major surprises, apart from Racing Bulls dropping the ball badly: neither Isack Hadjar nor Liam Lawson made it through to Q2. A poor showing, especially considering they were on the podium at Zandvoort a week ago.
A final word for Stroll. He will start P17, behind his Aston Martin teammate Alonso for an incredible 28th time in a row. The Canadian's performances, much like his out-of-car demeanour, are an embarrassment for the ambitions and credibility of his billionaire father, Lance Stroll's mega-project.
After head-in-the-sand-syndrome for too long, even mainstream outlets and pundits, long cautious to criticise, are now reporting what many have said for years: Lance Stroll is past his welcome in Formula 1. He does not have
it
! If he ever had it, it never got better. Each weekend, itA driver who started P2 at Monza during his rookie 2017 F1 season with Williams and finished P7 that day. Nearly ten years later, he is a shadow of that lad. He has regressed to his current state, the worst driver on the current grid, only there because of his father Lawrence's influence as the Aston Martin big shot and his ultra-deep pockets.
Formula 1 statistics for the Italian Grand Prix By Reuters
- Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the Temple of Speed
- Round 16 of the 24-race 2025 Formula 1 World Championship and last of the season in Europe:
- Lap distance: 5.793km. Total distance: 306.720km (53 laps)
- 2024 pole position: Lando Norris (Britain) McLaren one minute 19.327 seconds.
- 2024 race winner: Charles Leclerc (Monaco), Ferrari
- Race lap record: One minute 21.046 seconds, Rubens Barrichello (Brazil), Ferrari 2004.
- The race will be the 76th Italian Grand Prix since the championship started in 1950, and 75th at Monza.
- Built in 1922, the 'Temple of Speed' has long straights and 11 corners with 76% of lap time at full throttle and top speeds of more than 350kph.
- The race can be one of the shortest of the year in total time, due to the high speeds. A one stop strategy is most likely.
- Seven-times world champions Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher share the record of five wins each at Monza.
- Other still active past winners are Max Verstappen (2022, 2023), Fernando Alonso (2007, 2010), Leclerc (2019, 2024) and Pierre Gasly (2020).
- Hamilton has started on pole seven times at Monza and set Formula One's fastest ever lap in 2020 qualifying at an average speed of 264.362kph.
- The Italian and British Grands Prix are the only ones to have been on the calendar in every year since 1950. In 1980 the Italian round was held at Imola.
- Ferrari have won 20 times at Monza, more than anyone else.
2025 Formula 1 World Championship
- Australian Oscar Piastri leads McLaren teammate Norris by 34 points. Verstappen is third and 104 points off the lead.
- In the constructors' standings, McLaren (584 points) are 324 clear of second-placed Ferrari (260), with Mercedes third (248) and Red Bull fourth (214).
- Piastri is the only driver to have scored in every race this year. The Australian has scored for 41 race weekends in a row, if sprints are included -- and in 33 successive grands prix.
- Only one driver on the grid has yet to score -- Alpine rookie Franco Colapinto, who made his F1 debut at Monza with Williams last year.
Victories, Pole Positions, Podiums & Milestone
- Piastri has won seven of 15 races this season, Norris five, Verstappen two and Mercedes' George Russell one.
- Hamilton has not won since his career 105th victory in Belgium on July 28, 2024.
- Verstappen has won 65 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Michael Schumacher on 91.
- McLaren have had seven one-two finishes this season and won 12 of 15, including the last five in a row.
- Piastri has been on pole five times this season, Norris and Verstappen four each, Russell and Leclerc once each.
- Piastri has been on the podium 13 times in 2025, Norris 12.
- Leclerc's second place in Monaco remains Ferrari's best of the season. The Monegasque now has five podiums for the season. Hamilton has yet to stand on the podium for Ferrari.
- Ferrari are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the late triple champion Niki Lauda's first title with the team. The Austrian clinched it in Monza on September 7, 1975.
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