MONZA, Italy — Four-time reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen posted a dominant victory for Red Bull at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of McLaren’s title contenders, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, after a dramatic start and end to the race at Monza.
It was the 27-year-old Dutchman’s third win this season but his first since May, and it capped a memorable weekend after he posted the fastest lap in F1 history on Saturday during qualifying to secure a pole position he didn’t waste.
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 finished second, nearly 20 seconds behind Verstappen, to trim his gap to Piastri in the title race to 31 points with eight races remaining. He had started the day 34 points behind Piastri, who was not happy after he was ordered to let his teammate drive past toward the end of the race and had to settle for third.
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 the Australian star did despite grumbling about the decision on team radio.