Max Verstappen’s displeasure and outrage with the performance of his Red Bull car during the Italian Grand Prix was nearly visceral. The world champion is not hesitant to speak his thoughts, and he did so to devastating effect in Monza, describing the car as an undriveable beast that may cost him his fourth title. This would be deemed hyperbole if Verstappen hadn’t been warning about it for months and Red Bull still hadn’t found a solution, implying the Dutchman may be correct and they might have a real problem.
Verstappen qualified seventh in Monza and finished sixth in a race with the winner, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third. were in a different league, over 30 seconds ahead of the Red Bull. Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate, described their car as handling like a boat, which is about as harsh an indictment as any driver can level against a thoroughbred F1 car. Verstappen still leads Norris by 62 points with eight races remaining, but his warning that both titles were “not realistic” given the status of the car appears to be correct, especially because McLaren is now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. The magnitude of this turnaround in fortune is difficult to understand, maybe not least at Red Bull. Verstappen won seven of the first ten races with leads of greater than 20 seconds. On the field, a canter to the title appeared to be little more than a formality. However, Monza and the previous five races have shown that the wheels have come off the machine. The FIA’s declaration that the deployment of an asymmetric braking system is banned has sparked conspiracy theories. It was even reported that Red Bull was utilizing such a system, however the team was not, and the alleged removal of said system has nothing to do with the team’s poor performance.
They may expect little respite as they approach two obstacles that neither will be simple for their car to overcome.Furthermore, while Verstappen’s lead is a substantial advantage, it may not be sufficient to provide him with the necessary cushion. While calculations predicated on Norris finishing second in each remaining race rendered it an implausible aim that could only be narrowly surpassed, that scenario may no longer be true.
At Monza, the Red Bull was outpaced by two McLarens, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes. If Norris maximizes points against Verstappen’s fourth- or fifth-place result, the points differential will shift faster towards the British driver. Verstappen is aware of this and has thrown a broadside at his team.
They may expect little respite as they approach two obstacles that neither will be simple for their car to overcome.Furthermore, while Verstappen’s lead is a substantial advantage, it may not be sufficient to provide him with the necessary cushion. While calculations predicated on Norris finishing second in each remaining race rendered it an implausible aim that could only be narrowly surpassed, that scenario may no longer be true.
At Monza, the Red Bull was outpaced by two McLarens, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes. If Norris maximizes points against Verstappen’s fourth- or fifth-place result, the points differential will shift faster towards the British driver. Verstappen is aware of this and has thrown a broadside at his team.
They may expect little respite as they approach two obstacles that neither will be simple for their car to overcome.Furthermore, while Verstappen’s lead is a substantial advantage, it may not be sufficient to provide him with the necessary cushion. While calculations predicated on Norris finishing second in each remaining race rendered it an implausible aim that could only be narrowly surpassed, that scenario may no longer be true.
At Monza, the Red Bull was outpaced by two McLarens, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes. If Norris maximizes points against Verstappen’s fourth- or fifth-place result, the points differential will shift faster towards the British driver. Verstappen is aware of this and has thrown a broadside at his team.
They may expect little respite as they approach two obstacles that neither will be simple for their car to overcome.Furthermore, while Verstappen’s lead is a substantial advantage, it may not be sufficient to provide him with the necessary cushion. While calculations predicated on Norris finishing second in each remaining race rendered it an implausible aim that could only be narrowly surpassed, that scenario may no longer be true.
At Monza, the Red Bull was outpaced by two McLarens, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes. If Norris maximizes points against Verstappen’s fourth- or fifth-place result, the points differential will shift faster towards the British driver. Verstappen is aware of this and has thrown a broadside at his team.
The actual issue, which has grown increasingly apparent since its debut appearance at the Miami Grand Prix in early May, is that the car now lacks fundamental balance. The front and rear wheels are not in sync, therefore the car’s performance is unpredictable and it cannot be driven around corners. Attempts to compensate for it result in oversteer, which pushes the tyres harder, causing deterioration and grip issues.
The divergence appears to have emerged as a result of the team’s advancements since the lead up to Miami. They are not delivering the results that wind tunnel testing predicted, and problems have become worse with each attempt to solve them.
The team had to try to improve their package because standing still was not an option. After being so dominant for two years, Red Bull is reaching the boundaries of how much more they can squeeze out of the car’s design, but they are having to work hard to do so because McLaren has past them, and Mercedes and Ferrari are now nipping at its heels.
Verstappen’s rage is fueled in part by the fact that he reported this to the team as far back as Miami and believes they did not address it quickly enough or with enough passion. Unfortunately, it cannot be dismissed as a track-specific issue. Pérez stated that the troubles they were encountering at Monza were extremely similar.
to those they had at the previous round in Zandvoort, and the two courses could not be more diametrically opposed: Monza is a low-downforce, high-speed sweep, whilst the Dutch race is a high-downforce succession of mostly tight turns. Red Bull was driven to find more by their rivals’ advances, but instead discovered only constraints, as team principal Christian Horner observed: “As we’ve pushed the package harder, it’s exposed the issue.” Verstappen and the team are concerned because they have yet to find a solution; Horner’s admission that it was “confusing” them was not the reassurance the world champion was looking for.
The team held crunch talks in Monza on Saturday to try to find a route forward; however, with Baku and Singapore
They may expect little respite as they approach two obstacles that neither will be simple for their car to overcome.Furthermore, while Verstappen’s lead is a substantial advantage, it may not be sufficient to provide him with the necessary cushion. While calculations predicated on Norris finishing second in each remaining race rendered it an implausible aim that could only be narrowly surpassed, that scenario may no longer be true.
At Monza, the Red Bull was outpaced by two McLarens, two Ferraris, and a Mercedes. If Norris maximizes points against Verstappen’s fourth- or fifth-place result, the points differential will shift faster towards the British driver. Verstappen is aware of this and has thrown a broadside at his team.
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