Max Verstappen secured his fifth podium of the 2026 Formula 1 season with third place at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing behind the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell after an action-packed race at Monza. The four-time world champion battled at the front, fought the McLarens and even briefly led the race, but Red Bull’s limitations on the straights ultimately prevented him from challenging Mercedes for victory.
It was a memorable Italian Grand Prix for several reasons. Kimi Antonelli became the first Italian to win at Monza in 60 years, while the crowd was also treated to plenty of wheel-to-wheel action. Max Verstappen received his share of appreciation from the fans as well, effectively finishing as the best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes pairing.
Max Verstappen celebrates ‘special’ Monza podium
Throughout the weekend, Max Verstappen had been fighting inside the top five as he targeted either his first victory of the season or another podium. His efforts were eventually rewarded after several exciting battles with McLaren, while Red Bull also capitalised on a weekend to forget for Ferrari that added to the disappointment of the home crowd.
“For us it was really nice to be back on the podium. It’s always a special achievement here at Monza,” Max Verstappen said. “We had to fight for it and it wasn’t easy, but I think overall we put in a great performance.
“The main limitation was that we started struggling very early with the deployment on the straights compared with the Mercedes-powered cars, and there were still some issues. We pitted for the hard tyres and made our way back through the field well.
“The tarmac had broken up at Turn 2 and, as I was driving through, I suddenly went straight on because of the loose gravel. So the McLarens came back into play for the overtake and it took us a while to regain the position.
“Despite that, I think we did a great job, maximised our performance and can be proud of today’s result. I tried everything I could and I even took the lead during the race, which was exciting. Unfortunately, we couldn’t match the Mercedes cars, but being on the podium was a really fantastic way to end the weekend.”
Red Bull’s straight-line deployment proves decisive at Monza
Max Verstappen’s comments highlighted the main difficulty Red Bull faced at a circuit where straight-line performance and energy deployment are particularly important. Although he was able to challenge at the front and recover strongly after switching to the hard tyres, the Dutch driver could not consistently match the Mercedes-powered cars.
The result was nevertheless a significant improvement for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen maximising what was available and successfully emerging ahead of both McLarens to claim third place.
Liam Lawson’s recovery ruined by Nico Hulkenberg contact
The contrast with Max Verstappen’s performance was considerable for team-mate Liam Lawson, who was once again called up by Red Bull to replace the injured Isack Hadjar. The New Zealander started from the pit lane at the back of the field and attempted to recover as many positions as possible, but eventually finished 14th.
“It was a pretty tough race. I had a really good first lap from the pit lane and made up quite a few positions, but at the restart I lost part of my front wing after contact with Nico Hulkenberg, so I had to come back into the pits and lost more than 30 seconds,” Liam Lawson explained.
“It’s a shame because we had really good speed for the race, but with the way the strategies developed after the restart, nobody really pitted again apart from under the Virtual Safety Car, so unfortunately we had too much time to make up.
“Without those problems, I think we would have had a good chance of moving back through the field. Overall, it was a difficult weekend because of the engine penalty, but we managed to solve many of the problems we had yesterday and today we had good speed, so there is a lot to learn from this weekend.”
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