Following the quickest Formula 1 race in history at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, who set the pace at the Temple of Speed and who couldn’t keep up?
Max Verstappen: 9.5
An exemplary weekend for the Dutchman saw him not only break the record for the most poles with the Red Bull team, but also set the fastest lap in F1 history.
Max Verstappen stormed to a fifth pole of the season, pipping Lando Norris to break the lap record and thus set the fastest lap in F1 history based on average speed.
Despite losing the lead to Norris, Verstappen took little time taking it back and thoroughly romped home to win by almost 20 seconds over the two McLarens.
It’s Verstappen’s first Grand Prix victory since F1’s last trip to Italy at Imola in May, showing his class as Red Bull put to bed the demons of the same race 12 months ago.
Yuki Tsunoda: 4.5
A first Q3 appearance since the Miami Grand Prix was not enough as Yuki Tsunoda once again slipped backwards to finish outside the points in 13th place.
Tsunoda ran in the lower points places in the opening stint, but his prospects were compromised when he incurred damage from contact with Liam Lawson.
Lando Norris: 8.5
Second place and the lead McLaren will be satisfying enough for Norris as he chipped away three points from team-mate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead.
Norris was able to get ahead of Verstappen on the opening lap after the Dutchman was adjudged to have gained time off the track at the first chicane.
However, the Briton was unable to hold Verstappen at bay for too long, watching the Red Bull storm past and into the distance.
A slow stop put him behind Piastri in the latter stages, but Norris regained the place when his team-mate obliged with a McLaren order to invert the positions.
Oscar Piastri: 7.5
A rather frustrated Piastri departed Monza still with a 31-point title margin after having to make way for Norris in the closing exchanges.
Following a feisty early race battle with Charles Leclerc, Piastri settled into third, unable to muster up a challenge to Norris ahead.
However, after being allowed to take his pitstop first, Piastri would end up ahead of Norris after the Briton’s stop was four seconds slower.
When asked by his team to allow Norris back through to alleviate the advantage, Piastri seemed a little confused but followed orders to cross the line third.
Charles Leclerc: 8.5
Leclerc was unable to replicate his masterful 2024 Monza triumph, converting his fourth on the grid at the chequered flag.
While he was able to put himself into the podium mix in the opening laps, his SF-25’s deficiencies meant he had to settle for a fight with George Russell.
In the end, Leclerc would comfortably beat Russell, but he would come away from the weekend disappointed to not stand on the podium for Ferrari at Monza.
Lewis Hamilton: 8
Hamilton recovered from his Zandvoort grid drop to return to the top six after his first consecutive pointless weekends since 2010.
Starting 10th after his five-place grid penalty, Hamilton quickly made his way up to sixth and in range of George Russell and Leclerc ahead.
Ferrari went long to have a late race tyre delta over Russell, but the low degradation meant that he made little inroads on his ex-team-mate.
George Russell: 8
A 13th top-five finish in 15 races for the ever-consistent Russell, who maximised his W16’s performance once again.
The Briton had provided a threat to Leclerc in the early stages but fell away after an early stop to cover the undercut threat from Hamilton behind.
From that point on, it was a rather lonely race for Russell, falling away from Leclerc but never under any real threat from Hamilton as he came home in fifth.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 5
The second home race for Andrea Kimi Antonelli didn’t go entirely to plan.
A first Q3 appearance since Silverstone saw Antonelli line up in sixth, although a poor start would see him lose four places on the opening lap.
The Italian would recover well, but he would pick up a silly five-second time penalty for erratic driving while defending against Alex Albon.
The penalty would cost him just one place as Antonelli dropped from eighth to ninth come the chequered flag for only his second points finish in six races.
Alex Albon: 8.5
Albon made it four points finishes in the last five weekends as he recovered from a surprise Q2 exit to storm to seventh.
Williams had looked on the pace to challenge for the top five during practice, but slipped away in qualifying somewhat to a double Q2 exit.
However, on race day, Albon utilised the alternate strategy starting on the Hard tyre to storm through the pack to log another points haul.
Carlos Sainz: 6
Carlos Sainz’s race unravelled with a rather unnecessary collision with Oliver Bearman.
Having been on the end of a harsh penalty in Zandvoort, Sainz somehow escaped blame in the incident with the Haas driver at the second chicane on Lap 41.
Sainz would be beaten to the final point by just six tenths of a second, meaning sixth place in the Spa Sprint Race remains his only points since Canada in June.
Gabriel Bortoleto: 9
Gabriel Bortoleto put in yet another strong weekend, comfortably beating team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for a 10th time in qualifying in 2025.
The Brazilian then converted his fourth Q3 appearance in six races to keep Sauber’s total ticking over in the Constructors’ Championship.
Despite losing out in the pit lane to manage and close friend Fernando Alonso, Bortoleto capitalised on the Spaniard’s DNF to secure eighth place.
Nico Hulkenberg: N/A
It would be a DNS for the German as a hydraulic problem on the grid was unable to be fixed, as Hulkenberg pulled into the pits on the formation lap to retire.
Isack Hadjar: 8.5
Being knocked out in Q1 for the first time is not the way Isack Hadjar would have wanted to follow up his maiden F1 podium, but the Frenchman rebounded in the race.
Starting from the pit lane after an engine change, Hadjar worked his way through the pack, making the most of the alternate strategy to hold off Sainz in the latter laps.
Liam Lawson: 5
It was another incident-filled weekend for Liam Lawson as little mistakes cost him a run to the points.
An error on his final lap in Q1 saw him qualify last, although he moved up on the grid thanks to two cars starting from the pit lane.
Lawson was the only car to start on the Soft and he managed to undercut a few cars. But his old tyres left him a sitting duck, crossing the line in 14th.
Oliver Bearman: 6.5
Much like Sainz in Zandvoort, Bearman was on the receiving end of a rather harsh penalty, ironically picked up from a collision with the Spaniard.
A Lap 41 incident at the second chicane was judged to be the Briton’s fault, and a penalty put pay to any late run to a points finish with Bearman finishing 12th.
Esteban Ocon: 5.5
The other Haas of Esteban Ocon fared no better, also picking up a penalty for an incident at the second chicane with Lance Stroll on the opening lap.
With a five-second penalty hanging over his head, Haas decided to wait until the penultimate lap to stop, hoping for a Safety Car to steal a points finish.
Pierre Gasly: 5.5
Pierre Gasly couldn’t match his fellow Frenchman Hadjar’s charge from the pit lane to the points, as a 16th-place finish was all his Alpine could produce.
Franco Colapinto: 5
Despite outqualifying his team-mate, Franco Colapinto was unable to make the most of his advantage, falling behind his team-mate come the chequered flag.
Lance Stroll: 5
After another disappointing Q1 exit, Aston Martin’s decision to go long was compounded by a slow stop to leave Lance Stroll the last of the classified finishers.
Fernando Alonso: 8.5
A Lap 25 suspension failure put pay to what looked to be a strong run to another points finish around a circuit Aston Martin had earmarked as one of its weaker ones.
READ MORE – Max Verstappen dominates F1 Italian GP as McLaren make late team switch
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