Formula One seemingly went back a few years in the Italian Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen romped home to take a dominant victory.

After a stunning pole lap on Saturday, the Dutchman briefly ceded the lead to Lando Norris as Red Bull feared the stewards intervention and ordered Verstappen to give the place. It didn’t take long for Max to make his way up to the back of the McLaren however, and he retook the top spot on lap four.

From there, he never looked back, cruising to a third victory of the campaign and producing the largest winning margin of the season. The tifosi serenaded Verstappen on the top step, having won both Italian races this year and six out of the last seven in the homeland of Ferrari.

McLaren were forced to settle for second and third, but that didn’t mean there was less drama in the title battle between their pair. Norris comfortably had the measure of Oscar Piastri this weekend, qualifying ahead and remaining comfortably in front until the pit stop phase.

McLaren opted to stop Piastri first to prevent the undercut from Charles Leclerc. Norris stopped a lap later and due to an error on the front left he found himself behind his teammate. The team were soon on the radio to ask for a swap back.

To most people’s surprise, Piastri obliged albeit begrudgingly, but again this was a problem of McLaren’s own making. In what should’ve been a simple double podium for the team it could have escalated into something a lot more had Piastri not cooperated.

It also opens up a potential can of worms for the team for the remaining races. In an attempt to keep it fair for both drivers, the McLaren risk meddling instead of just allowing the two to race it out between them. The question also is would Oscar have been so agreeable had the swap been for the lead?

There is a few weeks to reassess for all involved before the next race around the streets of Baku. In the last race here, Piastri took a big step to becoming the driver we have seen this season, snatching the win from Leclerc with a brave move. Norris however had an incredible and underrated comeback drive, showing great pace.

The Brit needs to do some winning to give himself a shot at the title come the end of the season and the tricky street track would be a great place for him to lay down a marker.