F1 championship leader Max Verstappen says his Red Bull has become an undriveable monster

MONZA – Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen said Red Bull had turned a dominant car into an undriveable monster and both titles were slipping away after he struggled to sixth place at the Italian Grand Prix on Sept 1.

The Dutch three-time world champion won a record 19 of 22 races in 2023 in the most one-sided season on record, and he started 2024 strongly as well.

Verstappen has now not won for six races since Barcelona on June 23 and is 62 points clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris with eight races remaining. McLaren are a mere eight points behind in the constructors’ standings.

“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever. And we basically turned it into a monster,” he said at Monza, a superfast circuit where he won in 2023 and in 2022.

“So we have to turn it around. At the moment, both championships are not realistic.”

Verstappen said he had been unable to race with full power because of an engine issue and the team could have done a better job on strategy.

“We basically went from a very dominant car to an undriveable car in the space of, what, six to eight months,” he added. “That is very weird for me. We need to really turn the car upside down.”

At one point he was heard on the radio sharply telling the team to stay awake. He had said: “Can the people in the background please be awake? I know this is a s**t position, but it’s important.”

Verstappen explained that was related to battery percentage and the team giving him an instruction to save and then failing to notify him when he could push harder.

“These are obvious things that you need to be on top of. I know that I’m not racing anyone, but that shouldn’t matter,” he said. “It’s still an F1 race where you have to maximise everything.”

Team principal Christian Horner added: “We have a disconnection in balance that just isn’t working. As soon as you end up in that situation, you’re harder on tyres.

“You end up compensating, you move the balance around, you secure one problem and you create another. So you just end up in a vicious circle.”

Meanwhile, McLaren boss Andrea Stella said both the drivers and constructors’ titles were achievable and indicated team orders could be used to help Norris battle Verstappen.

At Monza, Norris would have cut Verstappen’s lead by much more had he converted pole position into victory but Australian teammate Oscar Piastri overtook him on lap 1 and also opened the door for Charles Leclerc, who won for Ferrari.

Piastri finished second, with Norris third, but the Australian is still 44 points behind his teammate and 20 adrift of Leclerc.

Stella said the team would review the race and possibly adjust the rules “such that they allow us to pursue in the best possible manner both the constructors’ and the drivers’ championship”. REUTERS