Verstappen dominates Monza, claiming first win since May

MONZA, Italy — Max Verstappen claimed a dominant victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday, ahead of McLaren's title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, after a dramatic start and an equally dramatic end to the race.

It was a first win since May for Verstappen — and only his third of the season — and capped a memorable weekend at Monza for Red Bull's four-time world champion, who had posted the fastest lap in Formula One history at the track on Saturday to claim pole position.

"That was unbelievable guys! Well done everyone," Verstappen said on the team radio. "We executed that really well. What an unbelievable weekend. We can be really proud of that."

Norris was second, nearly 20 seconds behind Verstappen, trimming the gap with Piastri in the title race to 31 points with eight races remaining. He had started the day 34 points behind the Australian driver, who was not happy after he was ordered to let his teammate pass toward the end of the race.

The switch came after Norris had a slow pit stop, which appeared to put his title chances further in jeopardy when he came out behind his teammate, but McLaren ordered Piastri to let the British driver past, which he did, despite grumbling about the decision on team radio.

"I felt like I was there for quite a long time," Norris said. "Every now and then we make mistakes as a team, and this was one of them."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had solid performances at the team's home race. Cheered on by the passionate, redclad "Tifosi", Leclerc finished fourth, while Hamilton surged through the field early to cross the line in sixth — after starting from 10th following a five-place grid penalty.

Norris was desperate to rebound from a disastrous Dutch GP, where he retired with a rare engine problem. Starting from second at Monza, he tussled with Verstappen from the start and was forced off into the grass at the first corner.

"I always know it is going to be a good fight with Max, and it was," Norris said. " (It was) one of those weekends where we are a bit slower, but (it was) a good fight and I enjoyed it."

Verstappen was told to give the place back, and duly did so, but the Red Bull driver reclaimed the lead at the start of lap four, driving past Norris into turn one.

From there, it was almost a procession to victory for Verstappen.

"It was a great day for us. Of course, lap 1 was a bit unlucky, but after that we were flying, and that was, for me, really enjoyable," said Verstappen, who is third in the standings, but 94 points behind Piastri — almost certainly ending his run of four straight titles.

"Fantastic execution by everyone from the whole team. I think the whole weekend we were on it, and it's super enjoyable to win here. We'll go step by step, race by race, but for us, this, of course, was an unbelievable weekend."

Verstappen briefly found himself behind the McLarens after pitting on lap 38, but retook the lead when Piastri was brought in on lap 46, followed by Norris a lap later.

"We went so long, so the soft tires seemed like a good tire to put on," Piastri said. "We were staying out for safety cars if we got any. (There was) a little incident at the end, but it's okay."

Hamilton was just behind his former Mercedes teammate George Russell, with Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar rounding out the top 10.

Antonelli had crossed the line in eighth, but the Italian teenager dropped a place because of a five-second penalty for contact with Albon.

Agencies Via Xinhua