Italian Grand Prix Takeaways: Tales from the Temple of speed
F1 NewsWednesday, 10 September 2025 at 07:30
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix will go down in history as one of the most memorable Formula 1 races held at the Temple of Speed, Monza.
Where do we begin? After the Dutch Grand Prix, which was dominated by McLaren—aside from Lando Norris' DNF, that is—we head to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, expecting another Papaya domination.
This has become the norm so far in the current F1 Championship, as the MCL39 continues to prove it is a formidable piece of kit.
While Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a brief moment of glory in the first practice session, Norris took over for the remaining sessions, but it was clear McLaren were not enjoying the same advantage they usually held over their rivals.
Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing and both Ferraris showed some flashes in practice, and while Ferrari flattered to deceive, the Dutchman stunned with his pole and then his race performance. McLaren had no answer to his speed and eventually ended up 19 seconds behind him at the checkered flag.
Overall, it was a great historic weekend we enjoyed in Monza, with new records, controversy, and some nice racing. Here are our Takeaways from the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen breaks record
What a weekend that was for Verstappen, and a stark contrast to the one he endured in Monza back in 2024, where he finished sixth after qualifying seventh.
He seemed to be in the mix from day one, but then, as we have seen many times this season, McLaren soon showed their true hand, and even if Max managed pole with one of his magical laps, he could neither break away from nor keep the Papaya cars at bay in the race.
But as Verstappen and Red Bull Racing said, it appears that they followed a different approach as they went for top speed and low drag, once again banking on their star driver's skills to keep the RB21 in check in corners.
What followed was a record-breaking pole lap, the fastest around Monza and in F1 history.
On race day though, Verstappen had one of those sluggish starts he has every now and then, which meant Norris had the advantage into Turn 1 as the #1 car cut the chicane and kept the lead.
Here, the instructions from the Red Bull pit wall were prompt and firm. Hand the place over, and I would like to credit Laurent Mekies on this occasion. Christian Horner historically adopted confrontational approaches.
Nevertheless, handing the place over was no issue, as Verstappen retook the lead with a brilliant pass as Norris was defenseless.
After that, Max drove into the distance, and nothing McLaren did could stop him as they tried to delay their only stop, hoping for a Safety Car that never happened.
Eventually, Verstappen took the chequered flag first, breaking another record: the fastest Grand Prix in F1 history, previously held by Michael Schumacher, or as Max likes to call him, Uncle Michael.
Hamilton feels the Tifosi love
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix was Hamilton's first as a Ferrari driver, a major milestone for his career in Red, which up to now has not been up to expectations.
The seven-time F1 Champion has struggled so far, and while his race in Zandvoort, the first after his useless comments, delivered some early promise as he was closer to Charles Leclerc in terms of pace, he ended it in the barriers after an uncharacteristic error when it started to rain.
All that made Hamilton's weekend in Monza all the more important as he came face-to-face with the Tifosi for the first time.
And despite his underwhelming Ferrari stint so far, the Tifosi embraced Sir Lewis and showed him some love, and it seems that did the trick.
He was just one tenth off Leclerc's pace and generally appeared to be in better form, far from the miserable image he has projected recently, and had it not been for his five-place grid penalty he picked up from the weekend in the Netherlands, he would have finished higher up the order. He did deliver some fine racing from tenth on the grid, though.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was full of praise for Hamilton after the race in Monza, claiming the Briton was back and even predicting a podium for him before the end of this season.
We will have to wait and see, but we all hope Vasseur's prediction materializes and that Hamilton really turns a corner after his weekend with the Tifosi.
McLaren Team orders
McLaren took their Papaya Rules to another level during the 2025 Italian Grand Prix after asking Oscar Piastri to hand over second place to Lando Norris following the pit stops.
Granted, Norris was the faster McLaren driver all weekend, but that doesn't give him the right to finish ahead of Piastri no matter what.
And before the team orders from Hungary are brought up—at the time Norris passed Piastri in the pits and was ordered to cede his position—the situation is different.
In Hungary, it wasn't a messed-up pit stop that put Norris ahead of Piastri; it was the strategy call, and let's be honest, the Australian's maiden F1 victory will always be tainted by the circumstances in which it happened.
In Monza, McLaren wanted to cover Leclerc, so they pitted Piastri first and delivered a perfect stop (1.9 s), which was not the case for Norris.
But why give the position back to the Briton? Was that their way of apologizing for a bad stop? How is that Piastri's fault? What happened to F1 being a team sport? We win together and lose together?
McLaren do not owe Norris anything; they gave him a great car, and it was he who messed up a few times this season. One mistake by the pit crew is not a disaster.
One more thing, if Norris lost a position due to a bad pit stop to Verstappen, for example, will McLaren ask Red Bull to give the place back? Out on the track, and especially when McLaren have the F1 Constructor's Title in the bag, fighting with Piastri should not be any different from fighting with Verstappen or any other rival in that regard.
When the Championship battle is so close between teammates, these kinds of team orders will definitely affect its integrity and outcome, and I say that with all respect to the immaculate words from Andrea Stella about McLaren's values.
Will Piastri remain a team player if the Monza team orders end up costing him the Title?
Italian Grand Prix Quick Hits
- What a great battle we witnessed between Piastri and Leclerc at the start of the Italian Grand Prix. On the limit, clean, and respectful.
- As Toto Wolff said, Kimi Antonelli's weekend in Monza was underwhelming. The Mercedes rookie should be past incidents such as beaching his car in the gravel in practice. His incident with Alex Albon, which earned him a penalty, was also uncalled for.
But am I the only one surprised by Wolff's criticism of his protégé? - What a shame for Williams; after so much promise earlier in the weekend, they scored points with only one car.
- A great drive by Isack Hadjar. It may not be a podium, but tenth after starting from the pit lane is no mean feat.
- Also a shoutout to Gabriel Bortoleto. He did a great job in qualifying and then finished the job in the race with eighth place.
- It was interesting to see Mark Mateschitz celebrating Verstappen's win in Monza, the first on Mekies' watch. Christian Horner who?
- Is Yuki Tsunoda still improving?
- Congrats to Pirelli on their 500th F1 Grand Prix. It was a one-stopper though...
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