What the teams said – Race day in Italy

Red Bull

Verstappen had to cut across the first chicane to defend from Noris off the line, and the team sensibly asked him to give the place back. He did that cleverly, to ensure he kept DRS and could challenge and re-pass Norris. From there he made serene progress, only losing the lead through the pit stop period. He won by a huge margin, on a day the RB21 was completely dominant. As for Tsunoda, he started in the points and ran there in the early stages. But after losing out to Antonelli he pitted, and then got caught in traffic. That wrecked his race as did some contact with Lawson, and he couldn’t make it back to back points finishes.

Max Verstappen, 1st

“It’s been a fantastic weekend and to win again has been incredible, it’s been a while! It is really rewarding to see the steps we are making understanding the car. We brought an upgrade here which really worked and took a step forward with the set-up of the car. In general, the car goes better in low to medium downforce tracks and we just need to keep pushing and keep trying to improve, as we have been. After the overtake it was about getting on with my own race, hitting targets and looking after the tyres. Pitting and going on to the Hard tyre was the best thing possible and we just tried to extend the gap as much as we could to the McLarens. This weekend has been incredible and is a super important weekend during a year like this. It shows there are still chances to win, which is really nice. Everyone has fully committed to improving the car all weekend and it was a fantastic result for everyone here and a big victory for the Team and for Laurent.”

Yuki Tsunoda, 13th

“After such a positive start to the weekend it was very frustrating to have an incident that caused so much damage to the floor of my car, especially when I should have been fighting for the points. We had been so quick overall but as soon as I had the damage my pace just wasn’t there. On the positive side we were better in the short runs today and after Q2 yesterday I was really close to Max and I can see that we are making progress race by race. After a race like today you just have to pick yourself back up and look at the positives like the quali lap, of course I am disappointed but you have to keep fighting and believing in yourself. Max was given a new floor this weekend as well and I didn’t receive that upgrade, so I am happy that I was able to squeeze as much performance out of the car as I did for qualifying yesterday. My focus is solely on the rest of the season at the moment and carrying on with the rate of progression that we have been making. I would also like to congratulate the Team and Max on the win today, it has been a while since we finished in P1 and is a great way to end the weekend as we head to Baku.”

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“My first thought is for everybody in Milton Keynes, it has been a difficult season for the Team so far and this win is something they have deserved for a while. It looked like McLaren would be running an advantage in pretty much every single race, but everyone has been amazing, to keep exploring and pushing the boundaries of this car and it is great today to be on the top step. There is a special Team behind this win, doing all the hard work to enable us to have a fast car today and everyone at the track then executed it in an unbelievable way. Max redefined what perfection is today and this weekend in general. It was a difficult first lap and he kept very cool and managed to do the overtaking on track and then to dominate the race. Monza is very specific in terms of layout and the Team have done an amazing job to get, fundamentally, the fastest car on track here, then combine that with Max's magic and the result is today’s win.

"Yuki was unfortunate today; he was stuck in traffic and it was very difficult for him to get anything out of the race. Then he had damage to his floor after his contact with Liam, which cost him performance. We have more work to do to help Yuki with his race pace and we will be pushing to get him in the right place as we progress.”

McLaren

Both McLaren drivers enjoyed tussles off the line at Monza, with Norris edged onto the grass and just keeping his car in track. He inherited the lead when Verstappen ceded position having gone off track, but was unable to keep the quicker Red Bull at bay. Piastri meanwhile had to fight back past Leclerc not once but twice. From there, they looked set to finish second and third behind the dominant Dutchman, only for the team to take the unusual step of pitting Piastri first. Norris pitting second had a slow stop that put him behind his team mate, with McLaren enacting team orders to swap them back around – which is where they came home.

Oscar Piastri, 3rd

"A trickier day for us. There were quite a few learning points from the first part of the race and also towards the end. It’s inherently quite a unique track, so there are some things that we can improve on for next year and other low downforce tracks later in 2025.

"In terms of the call to swap, ultimately it was fair. We have things to discuss, as we always do with these sorts of racing situations. It's now time to refocus ahead of Baku.”

Lando Norris, 2nd

“We just didn’t have the pace to challenge today – one of the few weekends this year where we’ve not quite had the pace to win. But it was still a good race, and I enjoyed it. I did everything I could today. I had a good fight at the start – it’s always a good fight with Max [Verstappen]– but he came out on top, and they deserved it this weekend. There wasn’t a lot more I could do, second was the best we could achieve.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“Today’s Italian Grand Prix was a close and competitive race that ultimately came down to car pace around Monza. We saw this reality in Qualifying, and then also with the added layer of there being no degradation advantage for the team in the first stint of the race, from there it was going to be challenging to achieve a victory.

“We also saw the values and principles we have in our team culture, with Oscar giving the position back to Lando before they were allowed to race again until the Chequered Flag.

“Overall, P2 and P3 is not a bad result at a circuit we knew wouldn't necessarily suit our car. We finish the final European double-header with more important and valuable points in both Championships. Thank you to the entire team trackside and back in Woking for their continued support and effort so far this season.”

Ferrari

Leclerc made a great getaway and overtook Piastri into the first chicane – even briefly challenging Verstappen. Piastri got back past, only for Leclerc to retake third. After a fun but fair fight, Piastri eventually overtook the Ferrari and disappeared into the distance, leaving the Monegasque driver to defend from Russell behind. Fortunately for him, Hamilton arrived on the scene to distract the Mercedes man – the seven-time World Champion making great progress in the early stages to climb up from 10th. But Hamilton could not find a way past his former team mate, and had to be content with sixth.

Charles Leclerc, 4th

"I gave it my all. I tried to hold on to P3 after overtaking at the start, but I lost grip with my tyres overheating and struggled to keep Oscar behind. In the end, we just didn’t find the pace to fight for the win today, but at the same time, we maximised our result and didn’t leave anything on the table. Monza is always a special race for us. The incredible amount of support from our tifosi means so much to us and we’ll give everything to be back on the top step of the podium next year and make them proud."

Lewis Hamilton, 6th

"We did a solid job today and I felt really comfortable in the car. The penalty made a good result challenging, but I gave it everything out there to deliver the strongest performance possible. I’m so honoured to be driving for Ferrari and to be on the receiving end of the incredible love the tifosi have for us here in Monza. A big thank you to everyone for all their hard work this weekend, and I’m grateful for the progress we’re making together. Grazie a tutti."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Our target for today was to get Charles on the podium, but it was just out of reach. He had a strong race, with a good fight at the beginning but that meant he overworked the tyres a bit at this stage. In the end we were not so far behind the McLarens, just four seconds, while Max was flying at the front. Starting from the middle of the pack because of the penalty, Lewis had a very strong first stint and towards the end we tried to give him a tyre advantage to get ahead of Russell, but the degradation was too low. He had a very good race and I am very pleased for him. We are sorry we could not deliver a better result for our tifosi, who have been amazing all week long. Grazie mille for their unwavering support."

Mercedes

Russell had a steady race in Italy, working his way back to Leclerc and trying to challenge the Ferrari in the first stint. But he pitted before his rival and came out in traffic and that cost him any chance of continuing that battle. As for Antonelli, a dreadful start dropped him down the order. He fought back up through the pack with some decent overtakes, but then it all went wrong when he was battling Albon for seventh. The stewards deemed that Antonelli had forced his rival off the track, and he picked up a time penalty that dropped him from P8 to P9 at the flag. Still, he managed to score at home and had his best finish since his podium in Canada back in June.

George Russell, 5th

"P5 was likely the maximum we could have achieved today given our pace and our starting position. I was reasonably pleased in the early stages to be fighting the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahead. We thought they would have a bit of an advantage over us, but we were within DRS range of him for a while. Unfortunately, even with DRS, overtaking is incredibly difficult here and we couldn’t mount an attack.

"It is a shame that we leave here having lost a little bit of ground to Ferrari in the Constructors’. That said, it could have been worse, and we go into these final eight races with a good chance of taking second in the final standings. We will regroup now in the next week and look to perform well in Baku."

Kimi Antonelli, 9th

"That wasn’t the Italian Grand Prix we were hoping for. I had a bad start with too much wheelspin. I lost a lot of places and that obviously really compromised my race unfortunately. It was a shame as my pace on the Medium tyre once I was in clear air was good. In the closing stages, I was trying to defend from Albon but unfortunately picked up a penalty. That dropped me one more position at the flag which is frustrating.

"There are positives we can take from the weekend still. I took a step forward in Qualifying and my feeling with the car was good. Hopefully we can get into a better rhythm on these weekends, starting in Baku, and that will enable us to show exactly what we can do when performing at our optimum."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"That was a tough day for us today. We didn’t have the pace to challenge for the podium and that is frustrating. The weekend as a whole slipped away from us a little, despite it looking promising as we headed into Qualifying. We didn’t perform as we needed to in order to fight for the top three and that is something we all need to improve on. There is never one reason that we can blame for that, so we will work hard in the days ahead of Baku to make sure we perform better in Azerbaijan.

"We now have just eight races to go until the end of the season. We are in a fight with Ferrari and Red Bull for second in the Constructors’ and will need to be at our best if we want to come out ahead of them. It will be a real dog fight given everyone’s development focus is already on 2026 so it will all be about who can execute better than their competitors."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"That was a frustrating Italian Grand Prix for us. George was able to put some pressure on Charles early on but, even with DRS, we just didn't have the straight-line speed to be able to pass. His race from there was about controlling the gap to the other Ferrari of Lewis behind. We were able to time our stop well to avoid losing position, but we had too much degradation on that stint to be able to challenge Charles ahead. Once that stop was out of the way it was an uneventful run for George to a P5 finish.

"For Kimi, his race came undone when excessive wheelspin on the launch led to a slow start. He dropped to P10 and had to battle back from there. He deployed his pace on the Medium compound well to complete the overcut on several of the cars he was racing, but traffic in his second stint left him vulnerable to the Williams of Alex Albon who had started on Hard and ran long. He duly made the pass despite Kimi’s best efforts, leaving him P8 at the flag. In defending from Albon, Kimi also picked up a time penalty that relegated him to P9 at the flag."

Williams

Albon started on the hard tyre and ran a long opening stint. That combined with keeping mostly out of trouble helped him to rise up into the points. He was pushed off track late on by Antonelli, but managed to escape without any damage and hold his position to score for the second straight race. But his team mate cannot buy any luck at the moment. Sainz was fighting hard having started on the mediums and made a clean-looking overtake on Bearman. But as he turned into the corner, he was tagged into a spin by the Haas man who had left his nose in on the inside. Sainz was deemed the innocent party this weekend, but that contact cost him time and any chance of points.

Alex Albon, 7th

"Today we had a fantastic strategy and great car pace. I think when you have the two together, you're going to have a good time with it. Honestly, it was meant to be a tough race on paper but as we were the first car on Hard tyres, it was quite a comfortable race, and the car was nice to drive and really quick. I'd say it was one of the best Sundays balance-wise I've had all year. In many parts of the race we were just as quick as the top teams, so it was a great comeback from a tough qualifying."

Carlos Sainz, 11th

"Difficult day in the office today. We were the last car of the pack who started on the Medium, so that didn’t leave us much room strategy-wise. I really stretched out the first stint before pitting to the Hard to build some tyre delta, and we were looking very strong, doing a good comeback until the incident with Ollie. With a damaged car we couldn’t do anything to recover more positions. It’s tough to miss out on good points and digest another race like this, but the speed is there and we’ll do our best to bounce back for Baku."

James Vowles, Team Principal

"A great result from Alex for that P7 and some nice points against our competitors in what will be a very close-fought championship. We had a very fast racing car today and what that demonstrates is we’ve got to get qualifying right – we are not getting it nailed on and in such a tight grid it makes an enormous difference. Alex drove a faultless race on the Hard tyres, we played the team game with Carlos letting him through because he was quicker at that stage in the race and we hoped to drag Carlos along. Carlos didn’t put a foot wrong – he drove with great pace in the race but the accident with Bearman cost him a points finish. Carlos will be frustrated but at moments like these we pull together and become better as a team. We’ll come back fighting in Baku."

Kick Sauber

Spare a thought for Hulkenberg, who was called into the pits at the end of the Formation Lap with an issue and told to retire the car. The team later confirmed it was a hydraulic issue that prevented the German from taking the start. But Bortoleto brought points home for the team yet again after another strong drive. He held Alonso at bay in the early stages and only lost out to his manager in the pit stops. He might have finished behind Albon based on strategy, but still recorded his third points finish in the last four races.

Nico Hulkenberg, DNS

“Obviously it’s extremely frustrating if you don’t even get to start the race. We experienced hydraulic issues that forced us to retire the car on the formation lap, which we now need to properly investigate and understand in detail. That said, we’ve clearly seen there is performance in the car, which gives us encouragement. Monza is always a difficult place to overtake, so it’s hard to say where we would have ended up today. On the positive side, it was a good weekend for Gabi, who scored valuable points for the team.“

Gabriel Bortoleto, 8th

“We had a very solid race, with good calls and good strategy. My pit stop was a bit slow, but I also put this on me, because I possibly arrived a bit too long in the pit box and it definitely didn't help. Overall, I am happy to have finished eighth and have made it back in the points: this is also important for the Constructors’ Championship. I am obviously hungry for more, but I believe this is the best we could have achieved this weekend – it’s been a consistent, productive one, and a good way to close the European leg of the season.”

Jonathan Wheatley, Team Principal

“Sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy the job across both drivers when we face a situation like today, with Nico sidelined by a hydraulic issue that prevented him from starting. It’s something we need to fully understand and resolve.

“On the other side, Gabriel delivered a fantastic performance. He showed pace and composure on every lap, and while it was always going to be difficult to keep Albon behind on new mediums, getting stuck behind Gasly for a couple of laps ultimately made the difference. Nothing should be taken away from Gabriel’s drive — he scored valuable points, closed the gap to the team ahead, and can take a lot of confidence from his weekend. Overall, the performance gives us real encouragement as we rebuild, refocus, and push into the flyaways.”

Racing Bulls

The team opted to give Hadjar a pit lane start, after introducing a new power unit into his pool. As such, he started on the hard tyres which helped him climb through the field as others pitted. But he was another to keep out of the succession of small incidents that hampered some of his rivals, and he climbed all the way back to the points to make up for his disappointing Qualifying. Speaking of those incidents, Lawson had one with Tsunoda – the duo banging wheels midway through the race. Lawson had gambled on a soft tyre start from last on the grid, but it didn’t quite pay off for him on Sunday.

Isack Hadjar, 10th

"I’m obviously very happy as I think we achieved the maximum we could have done today. I really enjoyed it; the car was fast out there, and our team's strategy was well-executed, complemented by a strong pace throughout the whole race. Before the race, I thought we’d have got stuck in a DRS train, but instead we made the most of the Hard tyres in free air. Overall it was a fun race as it felt like we did Quali laps one after the other without tyre degradation. After a frustrating Qualifying and a race start from the pit lane, I think we really deserve this point as a team. Looking forward to getting back to racing in Baku in two weeks time.”

Liam Lawson, 14th

“It was a tough race starting from the back. We tried something different with the strategy and took a gamble, but unfortunately, it didn’t pay off. We were close, but a few cars came out ahead of us on fresh tyres, and we got stuck behind them, which was really frustrating. Had we cleared that pack, it could’ve been a much easier race. The car has been quick, so it’s disappointing to come away with no points. On my side, we didn’t quite maximise the weekend. That said, it’s not as bad as it looks, and we’ll look to turn things around in Baku."

Alan Permane, Team Principal

“It’s the second race in a row that I’m a little bit lost for words. It was a faultless race and an incredible drive from Isack; starting from the pitlane and finishing in the points. We knew with our starting position today, that our race was going to be about damage limitation and that’s exactly what happened. The reverse strategy, coupled with his strong pace, worked very well for Isack, allowing him to take the final point of the race. For Liam, he was obviously starting at the back of the grid where we tried a conventional strategy with an early pitstop, but despite managing to under cut a couple of cars, it didn’t work out.

"We leave the final European leg in a strong position, with another point in the bag. We look forward to the next race in Baku, which is another low downforce set up, where I’m very sure the car will be competitive once again.”

Haas

Ocon ran the longest stint of anyone after starting on the hard tyre. He was handed a five-second time penalty when fighting with Stroll early on, and that helped to drop him down the order when he did eventually pit after hanging it out for a Safety Car that never came. As for Bearman, he was fighting hard and getting his elbows out. But he was a little optimistic after Sainz steamed past him on the straight, diving down the inside before both were tagged both into a spin, which earned Bearman a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his licence, taking him to 10 in total - perilously close to the 12 points needed to trigger a one-race ban.

Esteban Ocon, 15th

“We tried as a team to try and stay out and do something different. The tyres were getting better every lap, so there was no point in boxing and losing it all, so we stayed out long. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best Qualifying yesterday and that put us further back than we should be. There’s been some good learning from this weekend, and we’ll come back stronger.”

Oliver Bearman, 12th

“It’s really sad honestly as the car felt great today. I had to really fight as we were slow in the straights, but without the incident with Carlos Sainz, I think we could’ve been fighting for points – it’s just a big shame.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“It’s a shame that we didn’t score points because we knew we were up against it in Monza, but considering that, I think we fought well today and the team worked well together. I’m not going to dwell on the penalties – we accept them, and move on – win or lose, we do it together. The positive thing is that knowing Monza is one of our weakest circuits, we still fought hard and I’m happy with how we operated as a team.”

Alpine

Alpine struggled for pace all weekend in Italy, and the race was no exception. They rolled the dice and split strategies, with Colapinto on the preferred mediums and Gasly trying the hard tyres from the pit lane after taking a new power unit. The Frenchman ran nearly to the end in the hopes of a Safety Car, pitting for some softs late on to no avail. Colapinto locked up and ran wide at one point, also finishing down the order.

Pierre Gasly, 16th

“We decided for a new power unit before the race, which meant we would start today from the Pit Lane. From there, we knew it was going to be tough, especially at a track like this, which does not suit our car so well. We just tried to stay out as long as possible on Hards with the hope of benefitting from a late Safety Car or Red Flag. It seems like everyone kept it quite clean, so no incidents for us to benefit from. At the moment, with the car we have, it is looking very difficult to reach the points. The team is working really hard, there is a really good togetherness between everyone, even in this moment, which is not easy. We will stick at it, try our best, take each race as they come and see what we can do each time we are on track.”

Franco Colapinto, 17th

“Today was tricky even if we knew that would probably be the case this afternoon on a difficult track for us. We lacked pace and struggled to make much progress, which made the race quite long without much action. We tried our best, stuck to a conventional strategy but, in the end, a difficult seventeenth place finish. We will regroup and understand what we can do better next time. My goals remain the same: they are to continue to build up on the experience gained at these past races and find ways to make progress with our car and do our best. We will have a week or so now to look ahead to the next race in Baku. I will be with the team in Enstone to prepare and hopefully keep making steps forward.”

Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor

“It was not the best day or end result for us today in Monza, at a track we knew doesn't play to the strengths of our package. With the current car, this is what we have available to us and to both drivers for the remaining races, with the focus firmly on the development of the 2026 car. As racers, we know weekends like these are going to be difficult, but we are confident with the work going on behind the scenes that better days lie ahead for the team.”

Aston Martin

Alonso was running well in the early stages, and the team pulled off a brilliant strategic move by pitting him the same lap as his rival Bortoleto. Alonso attacked the pit lane entry more than the rookie and that helped get him ahead of the Kick Sauber man. But then it all went wrong when his suspension failed, leading to his fourth DNF of the season. Stroll ran the joint-second longest first stint of anyone, but a slow late pit stop dropped him to the back of the field.

Fernando Alonso, DNF

"The race was going well for us and we were fighting for some points. We started well and had a good pitstop, but then we had to retire due to a suspension failure. We were using the kerbs the same all weekend, so I think it's bad luck that we ended up having to retire. It's a shame to lose more points in the Championship, as we were having a good weekend up to then. We've been more competitive lately, so let's see how we go for the remainder of the season."

Lance Stroll, 18th

"It was always going to be a tough race for us today here in Monza. We managed to make up a few positions with our tyre strategy and staying out long on that first stint. Unfortunately, we had some reliability issues during the pitstop at the end of the race and ended up in P18. We were hoping for a Safety Car which could have helped us at the right time to finish just about in the points but there weren't any opportunities. We will look into it and now look ahead to Baku in two weeks."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

"It was a frustrating day for us with some reliability issues preventing us from battling for the points.

"Fernando did well in his first stint and was running strong in P7. He was then forced to retire his car with a suspension failure.

"Lance drove well and managed a long stint on the Hard tyres. Ultimately, we were hoping for a Safety Car which in the end never came. We then had another reliability issue with his pitstop, which dropped him down the order.

"We will regroup back at the AMRTC and look to bounce back in Baku."

Pirelli

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director

“In this Grand Prix, all the excitement was condensed into the opening laps, with drivers overtaking and repassing each other with some thrilling moves. Then, once the situation stabilised, the race became very linear with all drivers trying to extend their first stints as much as possible, depending on which compounds they had chosen for the start. Unlike last year, there was practically no graining today and on this very smooth track surface, performance degradation was pretty much zero. This meant that all the drivers could more or less chose the moment to pit based on their track position, while others gambled going much longer than the window predicted based on how free practice had gone, in the hope of a possible Safety Car, having nothing left to lose.

“We saw some cases of blistering across the front axle, but not enough to have a significant impact on car performance. In terms of wear, it’s clear that those drivers who went beyond the 40 lap mark on their first stint, came very close to or in some cases, even exceeded the wear limit, but without losing performance.

“All in all, evaluating tyre performance in this Grand Prix, I would say they were too good. It will be important for us to analyse the data very well to understand how to proceed with the development of compounds for next year. On this topic, it’s worth noting that in less than 48 hours, we will be back on track in Monza for two days of testing of 2026 tyres, working with Red Bull Racing (Verstappen/Tsunoda and Aston Martin (Drugovich) on Tuesday and with Williams (Albon/Sainz) and Racing Bulls (Lawson/Hadjar) the following day.”