Oscar Piastri is running away from the chasing pack in the drivers’ championship after what happened in the Dutch Grand Prix last week. He won his seventh race of the 2025 Formula 1 season, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris did not get any points, so the gap between these two drivers has ballooned to 34 points.
After an unlucky outing last time out, Norris, stuck at 275 points, is under pressure to do better in the Italian Grand Prix to make the title race more interesting. He also has to fend off Max Verstappen, who finished second in his home race last weekend, throughout the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar caught everyone off guard when he finished third on the grid in Zandvoort, and it’ll be interesting to see if the young Frenchman can sustain his momentum in Monza.
Check out the latest Italian Grand Prix 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Tale of two fortunes for McLaren
The 2025 season has been a close fight between the McLaren drivers thus far, and it looked even closer after Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had four straight weekends in Austria, Silverstone, Belgium, and Hungary, where they finished first and second in the race. However, Piastri pulled ahead after winning last week’s Dutch Grand Prix, as Norris’ MCL39 had a chassis failure during the latter stage. This forced the Briton to pull to the side and retire from the race.
With nine races remaining, Norris must make up ground fast since Piastri continues his fine form. In a recent interview, Norris insisted that he has “already forgotten” about what happened in Zandvoort.
“There’s still plenty more races to try to make up for the points I lost last weekend, and I’ve got to look at it that way rather than any other way, so that’s the way I’ll be doing it,” Norris said.
The Papayas are expected to make changes to their engines this week as part of their programme, and they will look to rectify what happened to Norris’ machine.
Hadjar might be auditioning for a Red Bull seat
Isack Hadjar was so hyped after securing his maiden career podium in Zandvoort, so much so that he broke his trophy while posing for celebratory pictures. He earned his achievement by taking P4 during the qualifying and seized his chance in the actual race.
The Frenchman was steady in fourth place, as he defended against Charles Leclerc and George Russell for most of the race. However, an opportunity to get to the podium presented itself during the closing laps of the race, as he took Lando Norris’ position following a mechanical DNF.
This performance should put Red Bull’s management on high alert. Before Zandvoort, Hadjar had a solid start in his rookie campaign with five points finishes in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Imola, Monaco, and Spain. It also helps Hadjar that Tsunoda’s Red Bull future is uncertain, as the latter continues to struggle this term.
History
The Italian Grand Prix is the fifth-oldest Grand Prix, having been held since 1921. Every edition of this race has been held at Monza except in 1980, when it was held at Imola. This will remain the case until at least 2031.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton boast the most wins in this event with five each. Besides Hamilton, Fernando Alonso (2007 and 2010), Charles Leclerc (2019 and 2024), and Max Verstappen (2022 and 2023) are the only active drivers to have won in Monza at least twice. Ferrari are the winningest team here with 21 victories.
Leclerc won his seventh Formula 1 race at Monza last year, as he and Ferrari executed their bold one-stop strategy well. The victory sent the Tifosi into pandemonium, especially since this was the Scuderia’s only home win in 13 years.
What are the odds?
The Italian Grand Prix 2025 odds still favour the McLarens to have an eventful time in Monza this weekend. In terms of the actual race, Oscar Piastri is the favourite to win at 2.10, with Papaya teammate Lando Norris firmly in second place at 2.40. Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell could challenge for the third and final podium spot at 8.00, 12.00, and 15.00, respectively.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar has the ninth-highest odds to win the race at 151.00, level with Fernando Alonso. Following his exploits in Zandvoort, RB have the fifth-highest odds as the winning constructor this Sunday at 81.00. As usual, McLaren are the massive favourites at 1.20, followed by Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, who are at 7.00, 10.00, and 11.00.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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