During the Italian Grand Prix, we saw Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso beside one another within the points. Whenever these two drivers share the same piece of track, it usually means that fans witness an amazing display of racecraft and defending.
However, during the race on Sunday, we saw no real battles on track as DRS proved less useful than usual. This led to a somewhat unexpected overtake where the manager Alonso showed his student Bortoleto that even the smallest margins can bring you great rewards.
Mind games and late brakes brought Alonso early success in Monza
The 2025 season has marked some amazing on-track action from Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto, where the latter attempts to pass the veteran. Despite the outcome mostly favouring Alonso so far this season, the Italian Grand Prix saw Bortoleto start the race just ahead of his mentor this time. A feat that saw Fernando Alonso resort to mind games before the race had even started:
“With Fernando it’s always complicated,” Bortoleto said. “Before the race he told me, I just need your tow, I don’t have the top speed, I’m not going to overtake you.”
Fernando 🆚 Gabi in the pit lane…#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/dyFQkDFOMj
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 8, 2025
When the race started, Alonso luckily had enough speed to stay close to Gabriel Bortoleto in his first stint. He didn’t try to go past with DRS, at least not until the pit stops came around. When lap 20 started for the pair, they both opted to enter the pit lane for some fresh tyres. Fernando, with all his experience, braked much later than Bortoleto as he was only millimetres away from him as the pit limiter went on:
“I’m braking for the pit entry and suddenly I see smoke behind me and think, ‘Okay, I’m about to get destroyed here.’ He had a mega pit entry, then a better stop than me.”
Sadly, all of this excitement was for nought as Alonso pushed his car over the edge of a kerb, breaking his suspension in the process and having to retire from the race on lap 24.
The importance of strategy in the 2025 season was highlighted in Monza
While these interesting moments of on-track action made the highlights for the race at the legendary Monza circuit, the rest of the race at the Temple of Speed was another prime example of why Formula 1 in 2025 has lost some of its magic. Despite many track records being broken on Saturday afternoons, the Sundays disappoint the fans as the racing just isn’t what it used to be.
The top 5 starters for the race finished in exactly those positions. There were almost no overtakes to speak of in the race and as we already saw, the difference for many drivers came from within the pit lane. Actually, one of the most memorable moments of the race happened because of a bad stop by McLaren.
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With the opportunities of overtakes being so scarce, strategy is pivotal to teams as they can jump straight into the points if they execute their plans well. A prime example of this was Alexander Albon, who, despite starting in P13, managed to fight his way to P7 because of his strategy.
With 8 races remaining in the 2025 season, we will see plenty of on-track action before Formula 1 heads into its winter slumber until 2026. There are quite a few things that haven’t happened this season yet. However, with the way this year is playing out, everything is possible. What is on your wish list for the rest of this season?
