Max Verstappen did not hold back after what he described as a disastrous 2024 Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing. Finishing in sixth place at Monza, the Dutch driver did not mince words in criticizing his team’s strategic and technical missteps that left him feeling like he was “in no man’s land.”
The three time champion expressed his frustration over several critical aspects of the race, including strategy and technical management, which he believes were poorly handled by his team. He explained to the media following the race, as quoted by Motorsport.com:
“At the moment, both championships are not realistic.
“I’ve said a lot and now it’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car, because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undrivable car in the space of six to eight months. So, that is very weird for me and we need to really turn the car upside down.
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“With how we are at the moment we are bad everywhere, so we need a lot of changes.”
He continued:
“It was quite clear for everyone what we have to do. It’s just now we have to turn it around.
“It’s not easy to do that very quickly. And then if we can put that on the car, it becomes more drivable again.
“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster, so we have to turn it around.
“It doesn’t matter how many weeks [it takes], we have to just keep pushing and work flat out. There’s no excuse.”
When asked to clarify a team radio message from the race when he said, ”Can people in the background please be awake, it’s important,” Verstappen clarified, as quoted by Sportskeeda:
“In the race my battery was relatively empty, while fighting Lando of course. Then I had to go to a certain setting. At some point they have to tell me when I can go back to the quicker setting.
“I ask: ‘Can i go back?’, ‘Oh yeah, yeah you can’. Then I thought ‘What is this? You guys have all the data the entire time, you guys can exactly see when I can make those steps’.
“I shouldn’t have to ask when I can go back. We might be in nobody’s land, but you still have to be on top of things. Otherwise, I can just stay home.”
Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, managed only an eighth-place finish, rounding out a disappointing outing for the team. The Grand Prix saw Charles Leclerc of Ferrari take the top spot, followed by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren, who also clocked the fastest lap.
Compounding Red Bull’s woes is the tightening Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren closing the gap to just eight points.