With McLaren dominating this season’s Formula One, the Italian Grand Prix came as a surprise for everyone. Whilst Max Verstappen has claimed pole position which he has done on four previous occasions in 2025, its often the case come race day the easier on its tyres McLaren has the advantage.
The fact that the Red Bull driver won the race from the McLaren pair by almost twenty seconds was shocking for many in the paddock. Some of this deficit was created by McLaren’s race strategy which was to hold on as late as possible before switching out their ageing tyres in the hope of a safety car which would reset the race.
Yet once Verstappen was inside the McLaren safety car window, the team decided to switch their drivers onto the soft tyre – Max was on an ageing hard compound. Yet even with fresh rubber and a quicker compound, the McLaren drivers were barely able to match the lap times of the world champion.
Four exciting laps in. Monza
The first four laps of the race were nothing short of chaotic with battles raging up and down the field. Yet come lap six or seven the field had settled down into largely what would become a processional affair for some 46 laps. Prior to the race weekend in Monza, F1’s supremo Stefano Domenicali sat down with journalists to outline his views on how to make F1 even more exciting.
“Promoters and fans want action,” claims Domenicali. “And now that they’ve started to understand it’s possible: our surveys show the vast majority of the audience wants the drivers to fight for a result.” Liberty Media’s man then suggested modern F1 Grand Prix
“may be a bit too long for younger audiences,” and that “highlights do very well” given “there’s a large segment that only wants to see the key moments.”
Other plans including increasing the number of Sprints and potential reverse grids as in the lower formula, although the latter has been debated to death and so far universally dismissed as a gimmick. As an aside, the 2025 Grand Prix in Monza was the shortest ever Grand Prix to be completed at the Temple of Speed. The total race time was over a minute shorter than the record previously set by Michael Schumacher way back in 2023.
Shortest ever Monza F1 race unexciting
At one hour and thirteen minutes and some change this is presumably the kind of race time Domenicali believes might be attractive to those who are flicking through their phones for a cute cat clip.
Yet Monza 2025 was no classic. The high speed nature of the circuit meant the cars after the opening skirmishes were well spread out and unable to overtake. If its “exciting” the fans want, there must be better ways to deliver this.
While Sprint weekends are hailed by race promoters and fans alike, again the racing is regularly less than spectacular. But these weekends do provide competitive on track action on each of the three days, which fills the grandstands on Friday where usually juts practice would be scheduled.
Yet the 100km Sprint’s are also mostly processional affairs, with the pole sitter winning out way more often than not. The lack of a requirement for the cars to change tyres sees the drivers battle to the end on their starting rubber knowing a pit stop time loss cannot be recovered.
Hamilton accused of reneging on his promise to Leclerc
Reliability the enemy of unpredictability
Even in the longer form 300km Grand Prix, Monza demonstrated this season that even with a mandatory tyre change, the processional nature of racing can still rear its ugly head. Fans want drama, but a spectacle created is not necessarily one which is exciting. Its the unpredictability of sport which writes the best scripts.
Yet the enemy of unpredictability has been created by the uber reliability of modern F1 cars. Where once races would end with almost half the field retiring due to mechanical failure, in Monza just Fernando Alonso retired with a broken suspension and Nico Hulkenberg retired before the start with a suspected power unit issue.
Of course F1 engineers can’t ‘unknow’ everything they’ve learned in the past two decades about improving reliability and so we have to look to other parameters which might spice up the spectacle.
Pirelli are asked with delivering tyres which will force the teams into two stop strategies, where wearing tyres and different offsets in the life of the rubber make the race a more engaging affair. In Monza Pirelli were too conservative, with Lewis Hamilton suggesting they should have brought tyre compounds a set softer and less long lasting.
FIA mandated two stop races
The Italian tyre manufacturer is tasked with a nigh on impossible job, selecting tyre compounds some two months before each event based on previous years data. Yet unforeseen extreme temperatures – much hotter or cooler – can have a dramatic effect on tyre performance and Pirelli have no way of predicting this when the tyres are shipped from Italy weeks in advance.
A simple solution to ensure a two stop race strategy, would be to mandate the teams and drivers much each use three sets of tyres during a Grand Prix – although there is persistent resistance from F1’s governing body to intervene in this fashion.
Finally the topic of reverse grids is also a red herring. Unlike in F2 and F3, the drivers are not prepared in F1 to scrap for every last points. In a Sprint where reverse grids would be applied from a single qualifying session for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, the eight points on offer for drivers leading the title charge is insufficient for them to risk damaging their cars and suffering in the later Grand Prix.
The problem of processional racing is deep rooted in F1 and is created mostly from a combination of massive and heavy racing cars, plying their trade on circuits not designed for such monsters. Zandvoort and Imola are two of the best examples of historic racing circuits where there was once compelling racing but now the tracks are too narrow for the modern F1 cars.
“Hooligan Herta” backed by Lando Norris
Ever more street circuits
Street circuits too are part of the problem, as the tracks are not purpose built and have to be created from existing roads built for people’s everyday cars.
Whilst short term fixes for F1’s problems may be debated, the longer term solution is to return to much smaller and lighter cars which are more nimble and where the driver makes a bigger impact over the machinery he is provided with.
Now the sport is stuck with more monster hybrid powertrains until 2031, and the FIA’s goal to lighten the cars for 2026 has largely failed. A glance across the pond would do the F1 exec’s no harm given Indycar racing delivers on excitement in buckets week in and out.
At most circuits the drivers do a minimum of three pit stops and somethings five or six, which combined with the safety car periods (full course yellows) creates a variety of race strategies.
Lighter more nimble car required
The key to this is the unexpected nature of the full course yellows, which can wreck the perfect race strategy in a heartbeat. As in F1 safety cars provide the opportunity for someone further down the field, to chose a different race strategy whilst not losing out to the rest of the field.
Yet there are those who suggest the frequent full car yellows make Indycar racing too random, although the counter to that would be Alex Palou has won eight of the seventeen races this year.
The solution to F1’s racing drama is a complex one and can only truly be resolved by making the racing machines much smaller and lighter. Maybe switching out some of the drama of top speed for combative racing is the approach required.
Yet the manufacturers have rejected a move for smaller lighter power units for the foreseeable future and so the age old debate about making F1 more exciting will continue in its circular path.
Wolff’s first public criticism of Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s baptism into Formula 1 was always going to be brutal, but two chaotic weekends — first in Zandvoort, then at his home race in Monza — have intensified scrutiny on Mercedes’ bold gamble to fast-track him into Lewis Hamilton’s old seat.
Hamilton’s shock departure last winter, after refusing Toto Wolff’s infamous “one-plus-one” contract and being denied a ten-year ambassador role, opened the door for Antonelli’s promotion. The 18-year-old Italian had been part of Mercedes’ junior programme since 2018, collecting titles in Italian F4 and Formula Regional Middle East. But his sole season in Formula 2 exposed his inexperience: briefly leading the championship before fading to a distant sixth.
Still, Wolff placed the future of Mercedes in his hands. Early signs looked promising with five points finishes in his first six races, capped by a podium in Canada. But since Imola, baring his podium in Canada, Antonelli has managed just three additional points — a slump that deepened with a disastrous Dutch GP and what Wolff bluntly labelled an “underwhelming” Monza…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
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