Franz Tost outlines what Max Verstappen no longer ‘refuses’ after his Lando Norris battle at Monza

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Max Verstappen astounded Franz Tost with a “superb” 2025 Italian Grand Prix win at Monza last Sunday, as the Red Bull driver took his first victory in the last nine rounds.

The 27-year-old has also now done the Italian double in the 2025 F1 season, having last won in May’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola before triumphing in the Italian GP. Verstappen further scored his fifth pole position of the year at Monza, giving him the joint-most in 2025.

Only McLaren rival Oscar Piastri has taken as many pole positions so far this year as the Red Bull racer after Verstappen scored pole for the Italian GP with the fastest lap in F1 history to thwart Lando Norris by only 0.077s. His win on Sunday also marked the fastest-ever F1 race.

The Temple of Speed saw Verstappen win the 2025 Italian GP in only 73 minutes and 24.325 seconds, to also set an average speed of 250.706km/h (155.791mph). McLaren driver Norris finished the Italian GP 19.207s behind Verstappen in P2, having tried an alternative strategy.

Max Verstappen showed a new mentality in his Italian Grand Prix battle with Lando Norris

McLaren attempted an alternative one-stop strategy with Norris and Piastri in the Italian GP, as the papaya outfit quickly realised they could not compete with Verstappen at Monza. Red Bull’s low-downforce set-up made the RB21 in Verstappen’s hands too fast for the MCL39.

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But Verstappen had to risk yielding track position to Norris at the start of the Italian GP after the Red Bull driver shortcut the runoff area on Lap 1 at the Rettifilo Chicane. The Dutchman used the escape route after Norris made a late lunge under braking into Turn 1 for the lead.

Red Bull quickly told Verstappen to yield the lead of the Italian GP to Norris to avoid the risk of receiving a penalty, which the four-time champion adhered to at T1 on L2. And Tost feels Verstappen accepting short-term pain to avoid a penalty at Monza showed a new mentality.

Verstappen’s former Toro Rosso team principal Tost has told ServusTV: “Max drove a superb race in Monza. He’s in sensational form at the moment. Above all, he’s mentally composed because of what he showed after the start in the chicane.

“He took a shortcut, but realised straight away that it might not end well. A few years ago, there might have been a collision or he might have refused to give up the position.”

Max Verstappen may have learned from his 2025 Saudi Arabian GP duel with Oscar Piastri

While Tost praises Verstappen for how he handled Red Bull advising him to yield the lead of the Italian GP to Norris after shortcutting Monza’s Turn 1-2 chicane last Sunday, it was not a straightforward choice for the Dutchman to let the Briton through at the start of Lap 2 of 53.

Tim Coronel called Verstappen an “idiot” for shortcutting Monza’s Rettifilo Chicane to stay in front of Norris, as the now 66-time Grand Prix winner initially tried to pull away from his 25-year-old rival. Only when Red Bull advised Verstappen to let Norris through did he pull over.

READ MORE: The five worst moments of Max Verstappen’s career in Formula 1

It ultimately had little impact on the Dutchman’s day, as Norris’ MCL39 was no match for the RB21 around Monza. Verstappen easily regained the lead of the Italian GP on Lap 4 with the aid of DRS into Turn 1. The Red Bull pilot then disappeared from the McLaren duo at Monza.

Norris and Piastri, who ended the Italian GP in P3, extended their first stints before pitting for the soft compound Pirelli C5 tyres on Laps 46 and 45 to attempt an offset on Verstappen, who had fitted the hard C3 tyres on Lap 37 of 53. But McLaren’s strategy would not pay off.

Yet while letting Norris through was not a straightforward choice, it does show Verstappen’s mindset could have changed since even round five of this season’s 24. Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen due in part to the Dutchman’s five-second penalty.

Verstappen received a time penalty that let Piastri inherit the lead in Jeddah during the pit stop phase as the Red Bull star shortcut the Turn 1-2 chicane to stay ahead of the McLaren man. It was a similar incident to his with Norris at Monza, as Piastri owned the inside at T1.

Unlike at Monza, Verstappen refused to yield the lead of the Saudi Arabian GP to Piastri and accepted the penalty, and it cost him the win by 2.843s. Verstappen received a 5s penalty in the 2023 Las Vegas GP for forcing Charles Leclerc off at T1 on L1 and keeping the place, too.

The Dutchman also has history with refusing to yield at Monza’s Rettifilo Chicane and paying a big price for it. Verstappen parked his Red Bull on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in the 2021 Italian GP, after refusing to use the Turn 1-2 runoff area when he was set to lose a position.