Stoic Max Verstappen looking beyond ‘painful’ Monza weekend
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Max Verstappen believes his Red Bull car could be exposed to a painful weekend on the Monza track.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MONZA, Italy – Max Verstappen expects no miracles at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix where, he said on Sept 3, he believes his Red Bull car could be exposed to a painful weekend on the Monza track.
The four-time world champion said the new hybrid era cars are “inefficient for Monza” where long straights at high speed require more power than at any other circuit.
“It’s going to be really painful,” he said.
“The cars are simply inefficient for Monza, but there’s not much point in staying negative.
“It is what it is and I have prepared myself mentally for it. I know this weekend will be different to what we are used to.”
Verstappen won here in 2025 after claiming pole with the fastest lap in F1 history, making it three victories in the last four years revelling in racing on the absolute limit at full speed.
But in 2026, he and his rivals will be forced to conserve energy and manage their cars on each lap.
“You have to keep an eye on how much energy you are using and make sure you don’t push all the time,” he said.
After crashing out of his home Dutch Grand Prix on the opening lap in August, he is hoping for a better result, but expects a difficult race.
“On inefficient tracks, we just struggle to maximise what we have so I’m not expecting any miracles here and it will be a challenging weekend yet again,” he said.
“The front running teams are bringing upgrades, so they’ll improve. We were already behind them, so there’s no reason to expect that the pecking order will be completely different.
“We have to remain realistic and get to know the car better, so we know which way to go next year.”
Verstappen is sixth in the standings with 112 points, 130 behind leader Kimi Antonelli. AFP
