The dream result happened again. After so many races of turbulence, Charles Leclerc absorbed the pressure of Oscar Piastri to win the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Lando Norris would have liked to secure his second win of the year, but will be happy to pick up solid points with third place. Carlos Sainz finished fourth ahead of future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
Monza was the penultimate race of the European season and, although not a classic race, it had significant repercussions on the championship race.
But who was basking in the Italian sun and who was running for shelter?
Winner: Charles Leclerc
Photo: @ScuderiaFerrari/X
You couldn’t have written a better script. Leclerc, who hadn’t tasted winners’ champagne since the Monaco GP in May, put in a series of devilish races to win in front of his most adoring fans.
Ferrari had been in contention since free practice, but qualifying was slightly disappointing after George Russell relegated Leclerc to the second row in the closing seconds.
But the Monegasque avoided incidents at the Rettifilo and made an extraordinary attack on Norris at the first Lesmo corner, bringing him to second place.
Ferrari dared to stop him a quarter of the way down on hard tyres, meaning they would try to make the one-stop strategy work.
Despite leading, victory still looked far from certain, but Leclerc conserved his tyres very well and had just enough in hand to overtake Piastri and take a popular victory.
Winner: Franco Colapinto
Photo: @WilliamsRacing/X
On Monday, Colapinto was preparing for the second half of his first Formula 2 season. On Tuesday, he was an F1 driver replacing the underperforming Logan Sargeant at Williams for the remaining nine races of the season.
The Argentine could easily have been overwhelmed by the occasion, but that was not the case. In fact, he made his only mistake by going off at Parabolica early in the session before picking up everything and bringing the car back to the pits.
Qualifying 18th in both Stakes was a good start and, in the race, Colapinto drove well. He kept his nose clean throughout the race and took a respectable 12th place on his F1 debut.
The next eight races will see him compete on tracks he has never seen before, but judging by his debut, he will have no problems.
Winner/Loser: McLaren
Photo: @McLarenF1/X
On paper, McLaren will leave Monza wondering whether it would have been wise to issue team orders before the start of the race.
The new “papaya rules” were confusing at best and could cause long-term problems. On the opening lap Piastri and Norris attacked each other on the run to the Roggia, allowing Leclerc to make a superb run into the first Lesmo, helping him move into second.
The Australian drove a great race and would have won if Ferrari's one-stop strategy had not paid off and he had not been stuck behind Sainz for too long.
On the contrary, second and third are a good result on a weekend where Red Bull was firmly on the sidelines, with Norris and McLaren closing the gap in the championship standings. The MCL38 is the fastest car on the grid and its recently added upgrade package is already paying off.
How these power-ups are used to their fullest potential will determine the outcome of the championship.
Winner/Loser: Kimi Antonelli
Photo: Mercedes Benz Media
It seems rather harsh to label someone who graduates with Mercedes in 2025 as a loser, but Antonelli leaves Monza not as a winner, but not as a loser either.
Ahead of the Monza round, Mercedes were ready to confirm him for second place and he had the perfect opportunity to impress with his presence in FP1 in place of future teammate George Russell.
No one could deny that he was taking it easy. The problem was that he had tried too hard when there was no need, losing the rear of the Mercedes at the Parabolica and hitting the tyres.
Despite the 45G impact, Antonelli was uninjured and was finally confirmed as a Mercedes driver for 2025, just as much of the world was starting to vie for tickets to Oasis.
But then things went wrong again in the F2 Sprint race. Antonelli found himself on the sidelines in a four-car pile-up at the start, picking up a puncture that ended any hopes of points. The Feature was better, finishing fourth after being caught out by an early safety car.
Loser: Red Bull
Photo: @redbullracing/X
The Red Bull Street nightmare continued in Monza, with the team struggling to find its rhythm and seeing its lead in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships shrink further.
Over the course of the weekend, Red Bull struggled with balance and pace, with Verstappen and Perez relegated to the fourth row of the grid for Sunday's race.
Needing a miracle, the team took a risk and started the race on the hard tyres, but it didn’t work, as Verstappen only gained two places. A slow first stop also didn’t help his cause and by the time he came in for his second stop, the chance of a podium was out of reach.
Perez had a clean weekend, but eighth place after a race-long battle with Russell, who had to stop for a front wing change, is not a noteworthy result.
Loser: RB
Photo: @visacashapprb/X
It was a weekend to forget for RB, as even a new upgrade package couldn't stop the team's recent decline in results.
Yuki Tsunoda’s poor record at Monza continued in 2024, when he was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since the Spanish GP in June and was visibly frustrated with the car’s performance. In 2023, he didn’t even start and this year he lasted just seven laps before retiring due to damage from a collision with Nico Hulkenberg, which was not his fault.
Daniel Ricciardo was the quicker of the two RB drivers all weekend, but failed to make it to Q3, finishing only 12th.
The Australian upped his workload by pushing Nico Hulkenberg into the gravel on the opening lap, resulting in a five-second time penalty. Then, to make matters worse, he was given a 10-second time penalty for failing to serve his time correctly after a crew member touched the car, ending any chance of points.