Scuderia F1: a Formula 1 podcast · AC Sports

Ep.634 - Race report: 2025 Italian Grand Prix

·49 min·4 clips

Max Verstappen shattered the fastest lap record and won the quickest Grand Prix in F1 history at Monza.

Mark Hamilton hosts this race report for the 2025 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He is joined by his co-host, whose identity is implied through their conversational dynamic. The episode dissects Max Verstappen's surprising and dominant victory for Red Bull. Verstappen secured pole position with a lap averaging 164.46 mph, setting a new fastest lap in Formula One history. He converted this into a race win, completing the fastest Grand Prix ever at approximately one hour and thirteen minutes. Red Bull's success stemmed from a new low-downforce rear wing that was further trimmed before qualifying and a significant floor upgrade. The team also adjusted the front wing to balance the car and ran full race engine modes throughout practice. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished second and third, over twenty seconds behind Verstappen. A slow pit stop for Norris, where a left-front wheel nut issue cost him roughly five seconds, led McLaren to order Piastri to swap positions with his teammate later in the race. Post-race, Piastri noted over team radio that this decision seemed to contradict their pre-race agreement about such scenarios. Verstappen's win was his third of the season and the 66th of his career. The most interesting insight is that Red Bull's victory was a strategic masterclass in aerodynamic setup, not just raw car performance. A surprising claim is that the Italian crowd, known for supporting Ferrari, was heard singing a Max Verstappen anthem after the race. A memorable technical detail is that Red Bull trimmed the top edge of their rear wing between practice sessions to reduce drag specifically for Monza. The episode also covers the struggles of Red Bull's junior drivers, suggesting Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson may be at the end of their F1 tenures. Lawson qualified last and had another on-track incident, while his rookie teammate, Isack Hadjar, scored a point. The hosts debate whether Red Bull's driver academy has failed, given the large performance gap between Verstappen and his teammates over the years. The tone is highly conversational, enthusiastic, and filled with inside jokes between the two hosts. The style is analytical but accessible, blending technical explanations of car setups with race narrative and driver market speculation. Formula 1 fans who enjoy detailed technical breakdowns of race strategy and car performance will love this episode. Listeners who prefer a strictly narrative race recap or are annoyed by tangential personal anecdotes might want to skip it.

As heard by us

Monza's race report doubles as a clear read on McLaren's points gain and Red Bull's remaining threat.

This Monza recap lands because it keeps the home-race noise and the title fight in the same frame. Ferrari's special Italian Grand Prix presentation, the blue shirts in the stands, McLaren's steady points haul, and Red Bull's continued relevance all come through without the…

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Why you'd press play

You want Monza explained through the race result, the weekend mood, and the title math.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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