Verstappen breaks his drought

Max Verstappen claimed a dominant victory in the Italian GP yesterday, ahead of title contenders and McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

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

“That was amazing, guys! Well done to everyone,” Verstappen said over team radio. “We executed it really well. What an incredible weekend. We can be very proud of that.”

Norris finished second, almost 20 seconds behind Verstappen, reducing the gap to Piastri in the title race to 31 points. He had started the day 34 points behind the Australian driver, who was unhappy after being ordered to let his teammate pass towards the end of the race.

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

“I felt like I was there for quite a while,” 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 put in solid performances at the team's home race.

Cheered on by the passionate red-clad tifosi, Leclerc finished fourth while Hamilton surged through the field at the start to cross the line in sixth, having started from tenth following a five-place grid penalty.

Norris was desperate to recover from a disastrous Dutch Grand Prix when he was forced to retire with a rare engine problem. Starting from second place at Monza, he clashed with Verstappen from the start and was forced onto the grass at the first corner.

“I always know it’s going to be a good fight with Max, and it was,” Norris said. “One of those weekends where we’re a little slower, but it was a good fight, and I enjoyed it.”

Verstappen was told to give up the spot and duly did, but the Red Bull driver reclaimed the lead at the start of lap four, passing Norris at Turn 1. From there, it was almost a procession to victory for Verstappen. He briefly found himself behind the McLarens after pitting on lap 38, but retook the lead when Piastri pitted on lap 46, followed by Norris a lap later.

“We were so far ahead that the soft tires seemed like a good option to put on,” Piastri said. “We were expecting the safety cars to appear. A small incident at the end, but it's okay.”

In the top ten

Hamilton finished just behind his former Mercedes teammate George Russell, with Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and Isack Hadjar completing the top 10. Antonelli had crossed the line in eighth place, but the young Italian lost a place due to a five-second penalty for contact with Albon.