Very pessimistic after a difficult Friday in Monza, Max Verstappen finally secured third place. The Dutchman praises Red Bull’s reaction, without hiding the persistent weaknesses of the RB22.
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Max Verstappen probably did not expect to leave Monza with a podium after the particularly difficult first hours of his weekend. Two days after expressing his concern about Red Bull’s performance, the four-time world champion ultimately finished third in the Italian Grand Prix behind the two Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
A performance that does not erase the problems of the RB22, notably its deficit in energy deployment compared to Mercedes engines, but which according to Verstappen demonstrates his team’s ability to react.
After a catastrophic Dutch Grand Prix and a worrying Friday in Italy, Red Bull managed to place its car back into a significantly more competitive operating window.
A Friday that nevertheless foretold the worst
Verstappen already approached Monza with great caution.
At Zandvoort, the Dutchman had one of his most difficult weekends of the season. Only seventh in qualifying, he then retired on the first lap in wet conditions.
The Red Bull driver did not hide his dissatisfaction, explaining that the RB22 did not match what he was looking for and that the team did not have the pace necessary to fight at the front.
His concerns were even greater before Monza. The long straights of the Italian circuit risked exposing Red Bull’s limitations in energy deployment.
Friday did nothing to reassure him. Absent from FP1 since his car was given to Ayumu Iwasa as part of mandatory sessions reserved for young drivers, Verstappen only set the ninth fastest time in FP2 while complaining about his car’s balance.
Red Bull transforms its car overnight
The situation improved starting Saturday.
Red Bull managed to modify the RB22’s setup to give more confidence to its driver. Verstappen qualified sixth before gaining a position on the grid thanks to a penalty given to Oscar Piastri.
In the race, he quickly progressed to the front and even briefly took the lead after overtaking Russell.
However, the superiority of the Mercedes on the straights prevented him from keeping this position.
“I had my qualifying problems which were obviously still present,” admits Verstappen. “But I also think it was quite clear during the race that we simply could not match the energy deployment of the Mercedes-powered cars.”
At Monza, this weakness proved particularly penalizing.
“As soon as I was in the lead, it was very difficult to defend”
Verstappen explains that the mode designed to favor overtaking allowed him to occasionally compensate for this deficit.
The problem appeared as soon as he had to defend his position.
“With the overtaking mode, it obviously seemed quite promising. But as soon as I was in the lead, it was very difficult to defend, and that was a bit my problem throughout the race.”
This weakness notably explains why Russell was able to regain the advantage relatively quickly after being overtaken.
Kimi Antonelli, who started 19th, then caught up on the Red Bull on his lap before taking the lead and joining his teammate in the fight for victory.
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Verstappen could no longer keep up with the pace of the two Mercedes.
Even fresher tires were not enough
The Virtual Safety Car offered a new opportunity to Red Bull.
Verstappen came into the pits to put on fresher hard tires and found himself having to climb back through the pack. But even with this tire advantage, overtaking was not as easy as hoped.
“Even when we had the VSC, came into the pits, and had better tires, I was overtaking cars, but as soon as they could stay in that overtaking mode, it was simply too powerful for us to really defend, even with better tires.”
The Dutchman notably cites his difficulties in getting past the McLarens.
“So it took me some time to overtake the McLarens.”
Despite these obstacles, Verstappen managed to climb back to third place and secure a podium that seemed very unlikely two days earlier.
Verstappen praises a “remarkable turnaround”
It is precisely this progress over the weekend that Verstappen prefers to highlight.
“For us, finishing on the podium after a very difficult weekend in Zandvoort, where the car really did not suit me, is positive.”
The work done between Friday’s sessions and Saturday’s qualifying was decisive.
“We achieved a remarkable turnaround between Friday and Saturday and the car was clearly in a better operating window.”
After his strong criticisms in recent weeks, Verstappen is therefore sending a positive message to his team this time.
Red Bull managed to identify a direction allowing the RB22 to regain enough competitiveness to fight at the front, even if Mercedes remained out of reach over the entire race.
Red Bull still has work to do
Verstappen refuses to consider this podium as proof that all problems are solved.
“There are still some elements and some areas that we know need to be improved, in addition to the obvious problem of energy deployment on the straights.”
This last weakness now appears as one of Red Bull’s main projects with the new power units.
At Monza, it prevented Verstappen from defending effectively when he was ahead of the Mercedes and complicated several of his overtakes despite sometimes better tires.
Third place therefore remains an encouraging result rather than a true answer to Red Bull’s difficulties. But after a Friday when Verstappen feared an extremely difficult weekend, seeing the RB22 finish on the podium already constitutes an important reaction. Now the weaknesses that still prevent the Dutchman from fighting on equal terms with Mercedes must be resolved.
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