2025 Italian Grand Prix Preview: 5 Big Talking Points Heading into the Weekend

Linus O'Howell
20 hours ago
3 min read

Can Charles Leclerc Deliver More Monza Magic?

With Monza being the home of Ferrari, it very much falls as the second Home Race of Charles Leclerc, and boy has the Monegasque made magic there! Whilst his 2019 win was iconic for many reasons, I would say that Charles’ victory around the Temple of Speed last year was probably his best, especially given the fact that it came out of nowhere! Now, speaking of coming out of nowhere, I’d say a victory for Leclerc this weekend would be even more surprising given Ferrari’s struggles, but considering he finished second at Monaco, another track both he and Ferrari love, he will definitely give it his all to at least appear on the Podium again!

Isack Hadjar is a Formula 1 Podium Sitter!

I can’t lie, I didn’t think I’d be writing this so early in the career of Isack Hadjar! However, it’s fully earned, Isack has been superb this season, and whilst luck was involved, no one should discredit Hadjar’s drive last week which put him in that position in the first place! Now, not only is Isack coming into Monza following a maiden Podium, but this weekend is also a second Home Race for Racing Bulls, meaning this weekend will mean a little bit more to everyone connected with the team! Oh, and I should mention that VCARB’s two Grand Prix wins have both come in Monza (2008 with Sebastian Vettel, 2020 with Pierre Gasly)!

A Big Weekend for Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Whilst Imola is definitely the closest Race to home, Monza does serve as another Home Race for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and boy does he need a good one! It feels like everything sort of started to go wrong for Kimi Antonelli in Imola when he suffered an unfortunate mechanical failure, and since then, he’s scored just 16 points in 8 rounds (with 15 of them coming in Canada)! With Antonelli coming off another disappointing weekend in Zandvoort, where he harpooned Charles Leclerc out of the Race (that’s another story entirely), it’s really important for Kimi to have a clean weekend and bag some decent points (he doesn’t need to beat his teammate)!

Lando Norris Seeks Redemption

Last weekend in Zandvoort might arguably be the most important moment of the Championship so far, with Lando Norris suffering a heartbreaking DNF whilst Oscar Piastri showed his class to win from start to finish! The gap between the two McLaren drivers is now 34 points, the biggest margin of the entire season, and Lando can no longer afford to finish second to his teammate; he has to go on a run of wins! Now, Norris did go on a run of 3 wins in 4 following his crash in Canada, so the omen is there for him to bounce back again, but it’s going to be tough against Piastri, a driver that’s also seeking redemption after seeing a win in Monza slip away 12 months ago! No matter what, Lando Norris will be incredibly fired up to cut down Oscar Piastri’s Championship advantage, but whether the Brit can beat the Aussie is another thing entirely!

Lewis Hamilton’s First Monza in Red

Speaking of fired up, I’m not sure anyone’s going to be more fired up this weekend than Lewis Hamilton! To say it’s been tough for Lewis Hamilton in his first year in scarlet red would be an understatement; the 7-time World Champion is still yet to achieve a Grand Prix Podium, whilst his consistent points-scoring finishes have also dried up in the last 2 rounds! Now, Zandvoort was especially bad for Lewis; he crashed on his own which is pretty insane, but he also failed to slow under yellow flags before the Race even started! Because of that, Hamilton is already on the back foot this weekend, having to serve a 5-place Grid penalty on Sunday! Because of that, this weekend could be very tough for Lewis Hamilton, but I wouldn’t rule him out of a strong result; he’s Lewis Hamilton after all!