Overview

• Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix by nearly 20 seconds, underscoring Red Bull’s resurgence under new team boss Laurent Mekies.
• A slow front‑left wheel change on Lando Norris’s stop (about 4.9 seconds) after Oscar Piastri’s 1.9‑second service reversed their positions late in the race.
• McLaren instructed Piastri to give the place back; he protested that a slow stop is “part of racing” but complied without resistance.
• Stella defended the directive as consistent with McLaren’s “Papaya” fairness policy, while Verstappen said he would not have followed such an order.
• The standings remain led by Piastri on 324 points from Norris on 293 and Verstappen on 230 with eight races remaining, as analysts warn the call could set a fraught precedent inside McLaren.