Verstappen charges to Italian GP win over Norris and Piastri

Monza: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, leading home McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after a dramatic start and end to proceedings at Monza.

Verstappen and Norris went wheel-to-wheel almost immediately when the lights went out, getting close to each other down the start/finish straight before the Dutchman skipped the first chicane to keep the lead.

Although Verstappen gave up the position to Norris at the start of the second lap to avoid a potential penalty, he was soon back on his rival’s tail and took only a couple more tours to reclaim P1 and surge clear.

From there, Verstappen appeared to have everything under control, managing the gap back to both McLarens across their opening stints, pitting earlier than Norris and Piastri to strengthen that advantage and then cruising to the chequered flag.

While Verstappen’s run to the finish was relatively serene, amid repeated messages from the Red Bull pit wall to avoid any unnecessary risks, drama developed at McLaren when a slow pit stop for Norris allowed team mate Piastri through for second.

Given the unusual circumstances, McLaren asked Piastri to move aside for Norris, after which they would be free to race. It was an instruction the championship leader initially questioned, but ultimately obeyed, thanks to a well-orchestrated swap.

Piastri settled for third, meaning his points margin over Norris came down from 34 to 31, with Charles Leclerc a few seconds further back in the lead Ferrari – the Tifosi’s dreams of a home win, or even a podium, not materialising this year.

George Russell delivered another strong drive aboard his Mercedes to finish where he started in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from his five-place grid penalty to cross the line sixth and at least give the Scuderia a solid double points finish.

After a thrilling Qualifying session around the historic Temple of Speed, which saw Verstappen brilliantly pull a lap out of the bag to pip McLaren pair Norris and Piastri, drivers and teams reconvened for Sunday’s main event: the Italian Grand Prix.

Two changes to the grid were confirmed in the hours before the race, with both Hadjar (who had qualified 16th) and Gasly (in 19th) being sent to the pit lane for taking on a host of new power unit elements beyond their respective allocations for the season.

As such, Stroll, Colapinto and Lawson all gained spots towards the back of the pack, while further up, Hamilton’s pre-event five-place grid penalty meant he fell from fifth to 10th and promoted Russell, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Alonso and Tsunoda.

With the race start approaching, attention turned to tyre choices for what Pirelli were expecting to be a straightforward one-stop race. As blankets came off, it was revealed that the majority of the field had opted for medium rubber, while Albon, Ocon, Stroll, Hadjar and Gasly took hards and Lawson went aggressive on softs.

When the lights went out, with Hulkenberg absent after being told to pit and retire his car, Norris jumped off the line to immediately put pressure on Verstappen – the Red Bull man squeezing his McLaren rival onto the grass as they charged towards the first chicane.

Under braking for Turn 1, Norris had a look up the inside of Verstappen’s car and the pair went wheel-to-wheel again, only for the reigning World Champion to skip the chicane and maintain the lead. “What’s this idiot doing?” Norris shouted over the radio. “He put me in the grass and cut the corner.”

There was more drama just behind when Piastri initially lost out to Leclerc, a move that prompted huge cheers from the Tifosi in the grandstands and on the grass banks, before the Australian fought back with a stunning pass around the outside of Lesmo 1.

Heading onto Lap 2, Verstappen appeared to back off down the start/finish straight to let Norris through and avoid a possible penalty, which allowed Piastri to have a look at the Red Bull before getting caught in a Turn 1 bottleneck and being overtaken by Leclerc again.

Verstappen maintained his composure and quickly returned to the rear of Norris’ McLaren, enjoying a smooth exit out of the Parabolica, tucking into the slipstream for the start of Lap 4 and then smartly passing Norris around the outside of the first chicane.

As Verstappen set about consolidating P1, Leclerc and Piastri continued to battle it out for third place. “Leclerc is all over the place under braking; I had to avoid him,” reported Piastri after a couple of close calls, before finally reclaiming the spot into Turn 1 on Lap 6.

In fifth, Russell was doing well to maintain his starting position and keep Leclerc on his toes, while Hamilton had already charged his way from 10th to sixth, moving past Bortoleto, Alonso, Tsunoda and Antonelli, who had endured a difficult start.

Elsewhere, Ocon was given a five-second penalty for forcing Stroll off track in a wheel-to-wheel moment at the Roggia chicane. “There was no space,” Ocon argued in a message to the Haas pit wall, with his efforts to challenge for the points being dented.

After his decisive early-race pass, Verstappen lit up the timing screens to post fastest lap after fastest lap and build a comfortable advantage at the head of the pack – the gap between him and Norris reaching five seconds by Lap 18 (aided by the latter running wide at Lesmo 2).

Bearman was the first driver on a conventional strategy to pit on Lap 19, triggering a flurry of midfield stops over the next couple of tours, with drivers either moving from mediums to hards or hards to mediums, apart from Lawson on his alternate soft-to-hard approach.

One of the highlights of this sequence was a head-to-head fight between Bortoleto and his manager Alonso, after the Kick Sauber entered the pit lane just ahead of the Aston Martin but left it just behind, thanks to some slick work from the Silverstone-based team.