F1 2025 Standings: Lewis Hamilton hit with Ferrari loss after Italian GP penalty

Despite an Italian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton surged through the field, a penalty has led to a net loss in the championship standings.

Hamilton managed to finish sixth on Sunday, less than 12 seconds behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, despite starting all the way down in 10th due to a grid drop post-qualifying.

A five-place grid penalty was carried over from the Dutch GP the week before, where Hamilton failed to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.

Nevertheless, he produced a solid drive, and was in the mix for a top-five finish, making the penalty even more frustrating for the man who is yet to have achieved a grand prix podium with his new Ferrari team.

The result also means that he has lost yet more ground in the drivers' championship compared to Leclerc, with Hamilton now a whopping 46 points behind the Monegasque driver, down in sixth in the standings after the Italian GP.

Elsewhere, the thrilling championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri got that little bit closer, with Norris cutting Piastri's lead down to 31 points after a double podium for the pair.

Max Verstappen may himself still harbour ambitions that he can get back into the championship race, with his third race victory of the season seeing him close the gap to Piastri down to 94 points.

In the constructors' championship, Hamilton's failure to finish any higher than sixth has seen McLaren pull away even further from Ferrari, and the Woking-based outfit could even wrap the title up as early as the next race weekend in Azerbaijan.

F1 Drivers' Standings after 2025 Italian Grand Prix

F1 Constructors' Standings after 2025 Italian Grand Prix

2025 rule change removes fastest lap point

The fastest lap point has been removed for the 2025 season. Since 2019, drivers have picked up an extra point if they finish in the top 10 and achieve the fastest lap.

However, in the past, this led to some drivers abandoning their races to pit and fit a new set of tyres in the final stages of the race in order to claim the fastest lap point or prevent a rival from getting the extra point, playing the tactical long game in the championship standings.

The most famous example of this last season came during Daniel Ricciardo's final F1 race, when the Australian finished last but claimed the fastest lap on the final lap of the Singapore GP, taking the extra point away from Norris and helping Verstappen's 2024 title bid.

F1 HEADLINES: Horner breaks F1 silence as 'offers' made to axed star

READ MORE: Norris blasts 'idiot' Verstappen after Italian Grand Prix scrap

READ MORE: FIA confirm Red Bull star stripped of victory at Italian Grand Prix

F1 RESULTS: Verstappen snatches Italian GP win after late McLaren drama

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography