The Italian Grand Prix was one of the less eventful races of the 2025 Formula 1 season until the final laps.
Nico Hulkenberg failed to start the Italian Grand Prix, and Fernando Alonso was the only driver to retire after a bizarre suspension failure.
The biggest talking point was McLaren imposing team orders on Oscar Piastri to give second place back to Lando Norris after a slow pit stop.
However, neither McLaren could get close to Max Verstappen, who rolled back the years to win the race for Red Bull by 20 seconds and earn his third victory of the season.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton failed to earn a podium in front of the Tifosi, with George Russell splitting the pair with another strong performance.
Beyond the top six, the top midfield drivers showed their ability, with Williams driver Alex Albon once again the best of the rest, despite failing to get through to Q3.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Max VerstappenRed Bull252Lando NorrisMcLaren183Oscar PiastriMcLaren154Charles LeclercFerrari125George RussellMercedes106Lewis HamiltonFerrari87Alex AlbonWilliams68Gabriel BortoletoSauber49Kimi AntonelliMercedes210Isack HadjarRacing Bulls1
Albon leapfrogged Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the drivers’ championship, and was followed home by Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, with Isack Hadjar securing the final point at Monza, despite starting from the pit lane.
Bortoleto has been learning from Verstappen and has Fernando Alonso as a mentor behind the scenes.
Ted Kravitz was speaking about his performance at Monza and believes that he’s beginning to attract interest from other teams in the paddock.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto? Everything you need to know
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images‘All the top teams’ are interested in signing Gabriel Bortoleto after the Italian Grand Prix
Kravitz was talking about Sauber’s race on Ted’s Notebook, and he explained: “Gabriel Bortoleto has underlined his coming star of Formula 1 potential, and all the top teams are interested in him.
“But, he says he’s staying with Sauber and Audi to work on their exciting project for the future by finishing eighth today and converting a good qualifying performance.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 617 2 280 3 260 4 239 5 86 6 62 7 61 8 55 9 44 10 20
“Hulkenberg was a did not start; it was a hydraulic failure, the team could see it on the telemetry, and they decided to, well, they said that they had to box and retire the car because otherwise it’s going to break down.
“It’s going to hurt the engine, and we need that engine for the rest of the season. There was no choice, they had to do it to Nico Hulkenberg.”
READ MORE: All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future
Gabriel Bortoleto takes responsibility for his slow pit stop at the Italian Grand Prix
Before the race, Bortoleto was linked with Ferrari as a potential replacement for Hamilton when he retires from Formula 1.
McLaren might be keeping tabs on their old driver just in case something happens that forces Piastri or Norris out of the team, and Red Bull are still in need of a strong teammate for Verstappen.
F1 Oversteer understands that Alonso might even consider Bortoleto as his own replacement at Aston Martin, once he decides to retire.
However, Bortoleto is excited about racing for Audi, and speaking about his P8 finish at Monza, he said: “We had a very solid race, with good calls and good strategy.
Photo by Luca Rossini/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“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.”
Bortoleto has a bright future in Formula 1 based on his results in his rookie season.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how long he stays at Sauber and Audi before taking his next step in the sport.