Race reports · Italian Grand Prix · 2025

Verstappen dominates Monza as McLaren settle for the podium steps.

Published Tue, 14 Jul 2026 · by the f1data AI desk

The race
Max Verstappen converted pole into a lights-to-flag win, finishing 19.2s clear of Lando Norris with Oscar Piastri third. The top five (Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell) locked in grid order over 53 laps; only Alonso’s retirement and Hulkenberg’s DNS disturbed a largely processional afternoon.

Strategy
It was a classic one-stop. Fitted degradation was effectively zero - mediums and hards both gained pace with age (track evolution), while softs wore at 0.25s/lap. Median pit loss sat at 24.9s. Verstappen ran medium-to-hard around lap 37; McLaren stretched mediums into the mid-40s then bolted on softs for a late push. The biggest undercut gains belonged to Albon (lap 41) and Hamilton (lap 38), each reclaiming ~15s on the car ahead after long first stints.

The story in the data
Isack Hadjar was the weekend’s climber, rising from 19th to 10th for a point; Albon gained seven places to P7. Hamilton started tenth despite Q5 and still recovered to sixth. Surprising note: Norris set the race’s fastest lap (1:20.901) on those late softs, yet never threatened Verstappen’s buffer.

Podium

Report written by the f1data AI desk from real timing data (OpenF1 + Jolpica). Unofficial; not associated with Formula 1. Ask your own questions →