Italian Grand Prix: Teams and Drivers report from Monza

Verstappen was untouchable as Red Bull Racing somehow managed to find the sweet spot for their RB21 denying McLaren and Ferrari any chances to fight for the win.

Ferrari did not manage to get on the podium while McLaren managed to spark controversy with the team orders they issued to their drivers.

Here is what Formula 1 teams and drivers had to say after the Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris (P2): "We just didn't have the pace to challenge today – one of the few weekends this year where we've not quite had the pace to win. But it was still a good race, and I enjoyed it. I did everything I could today. I had a good fight at the start – it's always a good fight with Max [Verstappen]– but he came out on top, and they deserved it this weekend. There wasn't a lot more I could do, second was the best we could achieve."

Oscar Piastri (P3): "A trickier day for us. There were quite a few learning points from the first part of the race and also towards the end. It's inherently quite a unique track, so there are some things that we can improve on for next year and other low downforce tracks later in 2025.

"In terms of the call to swap, ultimately it was fair. We have things to discuss, as we always do with these sorts of racing situations. It's now time to refocus ahead of Baku."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "Today's Italian Grand Prix was a close and competitive race that ultimately came down to car pace around Monza. We saw this reality in Qualifying, and then also with the added layer of there being no degradation advantage for the team in the first stint of the race, from there it was going to be challenging to achieve a victory.

"We also saw the values and principles we have in our team culture, with Oscar giving the position back to Lando before they were allowed to race again until the Chequered Flag.

"Overall, P2 and P3 is not a bad result at a circuit we knew wouldn't necessarily suit our car. We finish the final European double-header with more important and valuable points in both Championships. Thank you to the entire team trackside and back in Woking for their continued support and effort so far this season."

Charles Leclerc (P4): "I gave it my all. I tried to hold on to P3 after overtaking at the start, but I lost grip with my tyres overheating and struggled to keep Oscar behind.

"In the end, we just didn’t find the pace to fight for the win today, but at the same time, we maximised our result and didn’t leave anything on the table.

"Monza is always a special race for us. The incredible amount of support from our tifosi means so much to us and we’ll give everything to be back on the top step of the podium next year and make them proud."

Lewis Hamilton (P6): "We did a solid job today and I felt really comfortable in the car. The penalty made a good result challenging, but I gave it everything out there to deliver the strongest performance possible.

"I’m so honoured to be driving for Ferrari and to be on the receiving end of the incredible love the tifosi have for us here in Monza.

"A big thank you to everyone for all their hard work this weekend, and I’m grateful for the progress we’re making together. Grazie a tutti."

Fred Vasseur Team Principal: "Our target for today was to get Charles on the podium, but it was just out of reach. He had a strong race, with a good fight at the beginning but that meant he overworked the tyres a bit at this stage. In the end we were not so far behind the McLarens, just four seconds, while Max was flying at the front.

"Starting from the middle of the pack because of the penalty, Lewis had a very strong first stint and towards the end we tried to give him a tyre advantage to get ahead of Russell, but the degradation was too low. He had a very good race and I am very pleased for him.

"We are sorry we could not deliver a better result for our tifosi, who have been amazing all week long. Grazie mille for their unwavering support."

George Russell (P5): "P5 was likely the maximum we could have achieved today given our pace and our starting position. I was reasonably pleased in the early stages to be fighting the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahead. We thought they would have a bit of an advantage over us, but we were within DRS range of him for a while. Unfortunately, even with DRS, overtaking is incredibly difficult here and we couldn't mount an attack.

"It is a shame that we leave here having lost a little bit of ground to Ferrari in the Constructors'. That said, it could have been worse, and we go into these final eight races with a good chance of taking second in the final standings. We will regroup now in the next week and look to perform well in Baku."

Kimi Antonelli (P9): "That wasn't the Italian Grand Prix we were hoping for. I had a bad start with too much wheelspin. I lost a lot of places and that obviously really compromised my race unfortunately. It was a shame as my pace on the Medium tyre once I was in clear air was good. In the closing stages, I was trying to defend from Albon but unfortunately picked up a penalty. That dropped me one more position at the flag which is frustrating.

"There are positives we can take from the weekend still. I took a step forward in Qualifying and my feeling with the car was good. Hopefully we can get into a better rhythm on these weekends, starting in Baku, and that will enable us to show exactly what we can do when performing at our optimum."

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: "That was a tough day for us today. We didn't have the pace to challenge for the podium and that is frustrating. The weekend as a whole slipped away from us a little, despite it looking promising as we headed into Qualifying. We didn't perform as we needed to in order to fight for the top three and that is something we all need to improve on. There is never one reason that we can blame for that, so we will work hard in the days ahead of Baku to make sure we perform better in Azerbaijan.

"We now have just eight races to go until the end of the season. We are in a fight with Ferrari and Red Bull for second in the Constructors' and will need to be at our best if we want to come out ahead of them. It will be a real dog fight given everyone's development focus is already on 2026 so it will all be about who can execute better than their competitors."

Max Verstappen (P1): "It's been a fantastic weekend and to win again has been incredible, it's been a while! It is really rewarding to see the steps we are making understanding the car. We brought an upgrade here which really worked and took a step forward with the set-up of the car. In general, the car goes better in low to medium downforce tracks and we just need to keep pushing and keep trying to improve, as we have been. After the overtake it was about getting on with my own race, hitting targets and looking after the tyres. Pitting and going on to the Hard tyre was the best thing possible and we just tried to extend the gap as much as we could to the McLarens. This weekend has been incredible and is a super important weekend during a year like this. It shows there are still chances to win, which is really nice. Everyone has fully committed to improving the car all weekend and it was a fantastic result for everyone here and a big victory for the Team and for Laurent."

Yuki Tsunoda (P13): "After such a positive start to the weekend it was very frustrating to have an incident that caused so much damage to the floor of my car, especially when I should have been fighting for the points. We had been so quick overall but as soon as I had the damage my pace just wasn't there. On the positive side we were better in the short runs today and after Q2 yesterday I was really close to Max and I can see that we are making progress race by race. After a race like today you just have to pick yourself back up and look at the positives like the quali lap, of course I am disappointed but you have to keep fighting and believing in yourself. Max was given a new floor this weekend as well and I didn't receive that upgrade, so I am happy that I was able to squeeze as much performance out of the car as I did for qualifying yesterday. My focus is solely on the rest of the season at the moment and carrying on with the rate of progression that we have been making. I would also like to congratulate the Team and Max on the win today, it has been a while since we finished in P1 and is a great way to end the weekend as we head to Baku."

Laurent Mekies, CEO & Team Principal: "My first thought is for everybody in Milton Keynes, it has been a difficult season for the Team so far and this win is something they have deserved for a while. It looked like McLaren would be running an advantage in pretty much every single race, but everyone has been amazing, to keep exploring and pushing the boundaries of this car and it is great today to be on the top step. There is a special Team behind this win, doing all the hard work to enable us to have a fast car today and everyone at the track then executed it in an unbelievable way. Max redefined what perfection is today and this weekend in general. It was a difficult first lap and he kept very cool and managed to do the overtaking on track and then to dominate the race. Monza is very specific in terms of layout and the Team have done an amazing job to get, fundamentally, the fastest car on track here, then combine that with Max's magic and the result is today's win. Yuki was unfortunate today; he was stuck in traffic and it was very difficult for him to get anything out of the race. Then he had damage to his floor after his contact with Liam, which cost him performance. We have more work to do to help Yuki with his race pace and we will be pushing to get him in the right place as we progress."

Alex Albon (P7): "Today we had a fantastic strategy and great car pace. I think when you have the two together, you're going to have a good time with it. Honestly, it was meant to be a tough race on paper but as we were the first car on Hard tyres, it was quite a comfortable race, and the car was nice to drive and really quick. I'd say it was one of the best Sundays balance-wise I've had all year. In many parts of the race we were just as quick as the top teams, so it was a great comeback from a tough qualifying."

Carlos Sainz (P11): "Difficult day in the office today. We were the last car of the pack who started on the Medium, so that didn’t leave us much room strategy-wise. I really stretched out the first stint before pitting to the Hard to build some tyre delta, and we were looking very strong, doing a good comeback until the incident with Ollie. With a damaged car we couldn’t do anything to recover more positions. It’s tough to miss out on good points and digest another race like this, but the speed is there and we’ll do our best to bounce back for Baku."

James Vowles, Team Principal: "A great result from Alex for that P7 and some nice points against our competitors in what will be a very close-fought championship. We had a very fast racing car today and what that demonstrates is we’ve got to get qualifying right – we are not getting it nailed on and in such a tight grid it makes an enormous difference. Alex drove a faultless race on the Hard tyres, we played the team game with Carlos letting him through because he was quicker at that stage in the race and we hoped to drag Carlos along. Carlos didn’t put a foot wrong – he drove with great pace in the race but the accident with Bearman cost him a points finish. Carlos will be frustrated but at moments like these we pull together and become better as a team. We’ll come back fighting in Baku."

Fernando Alonso (DNF): "The race was going well for us and we were fighting for some points. We started well and had a good pitstop, but then we had to retire due to a suspension failure. We were using the kerbs the same all weekend, so I think it's bad luck that we ended up having to retire. It's a shame to lose more points in the Championship, as we were having a good weekend up to then. We've been more competitive lately, so let's see how we go for the remainder of the season."

Lance Stroll (P18): "It was always going to be a tough race for us today here in Monza. We managed to make up a few positions with our tyre strategy and staying out long on that first stint. Unfortunately, we had some reliability issues during the pitstop at the end of the race and ended up in P18. We were hoping for a Safety Car which could have helped us at the right time to finish just about in the points but there weren't any opportunities. We will look into it and now look ahead to Baku in two weeks."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer: "It was a frustrating day for us with some reliability issues preventing us from battling for the points.

"Fernando did well in his first stint and was running strong in P7. He was then forced to retire his car with a suspension failure.

"Lance drove well and managed a long stint on the Hard tyres. Ultimately, we were hoping for a Safety Car which in the end never came. We then had another reliability issue with his pitstop, which dropped him down the order.

"We will regroup back at the AMRTC and look to bounce back in Baku."

Isack Hadjar (P10):"I'm obviously very happy as I think we achieved the maximum we could have done today. I really enjoyed it; the car was fast out there, and our team's strategy was well-executed, complemented by a strong pace throughout the whole race. Before the race, I thought we'd have got stuck in a DRS train, but instead we made the most of the Hard tyres in free air. Overall it was a fun race as it felt like we did Quali laps one after the other without tyre degradation. After a frustrating Qualifying and a race start from the pit lane, I think we really deserve this point as a team. Looking forward to getting back to racing in Baku in two weeks time."

Liam Lawson (P14): "It was a tough race starting from the back. We tried something different with the strategy and took a gamble, but unfortunately, it didn't pay off. We were close, but a few cars came out ahead of us on fresh tyres, and we got stuck behind them, which was really frustrating. Had we cleared that pack, it could've been a much easier race. The car has been quick, so it's disappointing to come away with no points. On my side, we didn't quite maximise the weekend. That said, it's not as bad as it looks, and we'll look to turn things around in Baku."

Alan Permane, Team Principal: "It's the second race in a row that I'm a little bit lost for words. It was a faultless race and an incredible drive from Isack; starting from the pitlane and finishing in the points. We knew with our starting position today, that our race was going to be about damage limitation and that's exactly what happened. The reverse strategy, coupled with his strong pace, worked very well for Isack, allowing him to take the final point of the race. For Liam, he was obviously starting at the back of the grid where we tried a conventional strategy with an early pitstop, but despite managing to under cut a couple of cars, it didn't work out.

"We leave the final European leg in a strong position, with another point in the bag. We look forward to the next race in Baku, which is another low downforce set up, where I'm very sure the car will be competitive once again."

Nico Hulkenberg (DNS): "Obviously it’s extremely frustrating if you don’t even get to start the race. We experienced hydraulic issues that forced us to retire the car on the formation lap, which we now need to properly investigate and understand in detail. That said, we’ve clearly seen there is performance in the car, which gives us encouragement. Monza is always a difficult place to overtake, so it’s hard to say where we would have ended up today. On the positive side, it was a good weekend for Gabi, who scored valuable points for the team."

Gabriel Bortoleto (P8): "We had a very solid race, with good calls and good strategy. My pit stop was a bit slow, but I also put this on me, because I possibly arrived a bit too long in the pit box and it definitely didn't help. Overall, I am happy to have finished eighth and have made it back in the points: this is also important for the Constructors’ Championship. I am obviously hungry for more, but I believe this is the best we could have achieved this weekend – it’s been a consistent, productive one, and a good way to close the European leg of the season."

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal: “Sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy the job across both drivers when we face a situation like today, with Nico sidelined by a hydraulic issue that prevented him from starting. It’s something we need to fully understand and resolve.

“On the other side, Gabriel delivered a fantastic performance. He showed pace and composure on every lap, and while it was always going to be difficult to keep Albon behind on new mediums, getting stuck behind Gasly for a couple of laps ultimately made the difference. Nothing should be taken away from Gabriel’s drive — he scored valuable points, closed the gap to the team ahead, and can take a lot of confidence from his weekend. Overall, the performance gives us real encouragement as we rebuild, refocus, and push into the flyaways.”

Ollie Bearman (P12): "It's really sad honestly as the car felt great today. I had to really fight as we were slow in the straights, but without the incident with Carlos Sainz, I think we could've been fighting for points – it's just a big shame."

Esteban Ocon (P15): "We tried as a team to try and stay out and do something different. The tires were getting better every lap, so there was no point in boxing and losing it all, so we stayed out long. Unfortunately, we didn't have the best qualifying yesterday and that put us further back than we should be. There's been some good learning from this weekend, and we'll come back stronger."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It's a shame that we didn't score points because we knew we were up against it in Monza, but considering that, I think we fought well today and the team worked well together. I'm not going to dwell on the penalties – we accept them, and move on – win or lose, we do it together. The positive thing is that knowing Monza is one of our weakest circuits, we still fought hard and I'm happy with how we operated as a team."

Pierre Gasly (P16): "We decided for a new power unit before the race, which meant we would start today from the Pit Lane. From there, we knew it was going to be tough, especially at a track like this, which does not suit our car so well. We just tried to stay out as long as possible on Hards with the hope of benefitting from a late Safety Car or Red Flag. It seems like everyone kept it quite clean, so no incidents for us to benefit from. At the moment, with the car we have, it is looking very difficult to reach the points. The team is working really hard, there is a really good togetherness between everyone, even in this moment, which is not easy. We will stick at it, try our best, take each race as they come and see what we can do each time we are on track."

Franco Colapinto (P17): "Today was tricky even if we knew that would probably be the case this afternoon on a difficult track for us. We lacked pace and struggled to make much progress, which made the race quite long without much action. We tried our best, stuck to a conventional strategy but, in the end, a difficult seventeenth place finish. We will regroup and understand what we can do better next time. My goals remain the same: they are to continue to build up on the experience gained at these past races and find ways to make progress with our car and do our best. We will have a week or so now to look ahead to the next race in Baku. I will be with the team in Enstone to prepare and hopefully keep making steps forward."

Flavio Briatore: "It was not the best day or end result for us today in Monza, at a track we knew doesn't play to the strengths of our package. With the current car, this is what we have available to us and to both drivers for the remaining races, with the focus firmly on the development of the 2026 car. As racers, we know weekends like these are going to be difficult, but we are confident with the work going on behind the scenes that better days lie ahead for the team."