F1 Italian GP: Five things to watch out for

Lando Norris desperately needs a win

Was last weekend’s retirement title deciding? Potentially, but it doesn’t have to be. Lando Norris still has his destiny in his own hands, but then he needs to start beating McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri on a regular basis, which he hasn’t managed yet this season.

Norris’ engine oil leak may by unlucky, but the current 34-point advantage for Piastri is probably a fair reflection of the performance balance between the pair, and after losing wins in Britain and Hungary Piastri could also point to missed opportunities of his own.

Hamilton’s first Monza with Ferrari

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” Lewis Hamilton said of his first season with Ferrari. “Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of feeling? No. But that’s life.”

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Marco Canoniero / LightRocket via Getty Images

It has indeed proved more challenging than most expected, with Hamilton struggling to get to grips with his new car. Almost every weekend the message has been the same: after so many years with Mercedes, the seven-time world champion keeps repeating that he needs time to adapt to each track. He underlined the point again ahead of his first Monza as a Ferrari driver.

A victory is not on the cards – and even a podium looks unrealistic. Hamilton has yet to finish on the rostrum this year and will also serve a five-place grid drop for his pre-race infringement at Zandvoort.

Still, a top-three finish in front of the tifosi would go a long way toward making up for the troubles so far.

– Oleg Karpov

Antonelli: A year on from his first FP1

What a difference a year makes. Andrea Kimi Antonelli definitively announced himself on the F1 scene a year ago in his maiden public appearance, putting together the makings of a blisteringly fast lap on his first push in FP1… before shunting George Russell’s race car at the Parabolica.

Since getting in a race seat, he’s been fast, aggressive – and a little accident-prone, as demonstrated once more last weekend when he took Charles Leclerc out with a “now or never” move. Did we really say “what a difference a year makes”?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Still, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff remains 100% invested in his protégé.

“Kimi is 18 years old, thrown into this mammoth of a team representing Mercedes – he’s going to make mistakes,” said Wolff.

“You always wish that the learning has less humps and bumps than it has today, because the swings are enormous. But [the potential] is there and we have no doubts. My 100% belief is in him in the long term.

“If the visor goes down, you have a monster and that’s what we want”

– Stuart Codling

A chance for Williams to pull away from its direct rivals?

Historically, Monza has been a happy hunting ground for Williams with its slippery low-drag cars that came alive on low straights, while being much less competitive on high downforce circuits.

Over the past four years, the squad scored three ninth-places and one seventh spot at F1’s ‘Temple of Speed’ with the likes of George Russell, Nyck de Vries, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto.

On paper, the run could well continue this weekend as Williams aims to bat away any challengers to its best of the rest spot in fifth. But as the James Vowles-led squad made marked improvements over the past 12 months, Albon believes having a more all-round car – while crucial year-round – has blunted its straight-line edge.

Alex Albon, Williams, Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Erik Junius

“It’s definitely more balanced,” he said. We weren’t that quick here down the straights last year, and I don’t think we’re going to be that quick this year either. Teams like Haas, for example, had an extremely strong race pace here last year. We’re managing expectations.”

WIlliams defends an 18-point lead on Aston Martin, with Racing Bulls another two points behind.

– Fil Cleeren

Tsunoda’s task is just a bit harder now after Hadjar’s podium

Half a year on from his Red Bull promotion, Yuki Tsunoda has failed to do the one thing he needed most to secure his future with the team – impress. The need to adapt to a new team and a tricky car are understandable reasons to lower expectations, but it’s simply taking too long for the Japanese driver to get things under control.

Until Zandvoort, he had another excuse – being down on car spec compared to Max Verstappen – but that’s gone now too. With development slowed by the shift of focus to 2026, it’s almost guaranteed Tsunoda will have the same tools as the four-time world champion.

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images

There’s not much time left, as Red Bull bosses want to decide on their 2026 line-up before the season ends. Helmut Marko has already underlined that Tsunoda needs to show something until “around Mexico.” And that “something” needs to be truly impressive.

Isack Hadjar raised the stakes with his stunning Zandvoort podium – and Tsunoda must now give Marko and Laurent Mekies a very good reason not to replace him. The sooner the better.

– Oleg Karpov