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Max Verstappen claimed his third Formula 1 victory of the season with a dominant performance at Monza, finishing almost 20 seconds clear of Lando Norris as McLaren became embroiled in a late-race team orders dispute.
The Red Bull driver started from pole but briefly lost the lead to Norris after running off at Turn 1. Ordered to hand the position back, Verstappen complied, only to reclaim the advantage on lap four. From there, he controlled the race pace with ease. "It's super enjoyable to win here. It was a great day for us," Verstappen said. "Lap 1 was a bit unlucky but after that we were flying."
McLaren's race was defined by strategy calls. Both Norris and Oscar Piastri delayed pit stops, hoping for a late safety car that never arrived. Piastri was called in first on lap 45 for a slick 1.9-second stop, but Norris suffered a wheel gun issue a lap later that stretched his stop to over five seconds. He rejoined behind his teammate, threatening his chances of second place and narrowing his title fight against Piastri.
Team management intervened, instructing Piastri to move aside. Initially resistant, Piastri questioned over radio: "We did a slow pit stop [on Norris' car] that's part of racing, I don't get what changed here." Despite his frustration, he allowed Norris through. The switch evoked memories of past McLaren directives, such as Budapest in 2023. Norris later admitted: "Every now and then we make mistakes as a team and today was one of them."
Behind the front three, Charles Leclerc delivered Ferrari's best result in fourth after an early duel with Piastri. George Russell followed in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton recovered to sixth on his Ferrari debut at Monza after starting 10th due to a grid penalty.
Alex Albon impressed again with seventh for Williams. Gabriel Bortoleto came eighth after Andrea Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty, and Isack Hadjar claimed the final point in tenth. Fernando Alonso retired on lap 25 with suspension failure, while Nico Hülkenberg failed to start due to hydraulic issues.
The result trimmed Norris's deficit to Piastri in the drivers' standings by three points, though he remains 31 points ahead. Verstappen, meanwhile, sits a distant third in the title race but celebrated a "fantastic execution by everyone in the whole team" after Red Bull's first win since May.
