Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen finished the Italian Grand Prix in sixth place. After the race, the three-time Fl world champion criticized the setup of his RB20 race car during the entire weekend in Monza.
Ever since RBR introduced upgrades to their 2024 contender, the Dutchman and his teammate Sergio Perez have struggled to keep pace with rivals like McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes-AMG. This was evident throughout the Italian GP weekend as Verstappen struggled to find the right balance with his car in all Free Practice sessions (FP1, FP2, and FP3) as well as Qualifying.
The issue even perplexed RBR team principal Christian Horner, with Q2 and Q3 sessions on Saturday yielding unexpected results. Now, after finishing the Italian GP in sixth place, the 26-year-old has demanded necessary action from the Austrian outfit ahead of the next race in Baku (September 15).
“Yeah, It’s really bad at the moment, before Baku we have a lot of work to do, basically change the whole car,” Verstappen said during the post-race media interaction.
The same can be heard in a clip shared by a Red Bull Racing fan page on X. Here’s a look at the post, captioned:
“Max on plenty of work ahead of Baku”
He also shared a clear message to Horner during an interview with Sky Sports Fl after the race.
“I thought we got the most out of the car in terms of position but not in the way we approached the race,” Verstappen commented.
“The pace was not strong enough so we had to do our own race and had a bad pit stop. I think strategy-wise we didn’t optimize it. Some cars did a one-stop and we did a two-stop which was not the best,” he added, criticizing the two-stop strategy.
Max Verstappen will likely be looking for better results from Red Bull to maintain his lead and chance at winning the drivers’ title in the 2024 season.
🇮🇹🗣️ | Max on plenty of work ahead of Baku
“Yeah, It's really bad at the moment, before Baku we have a lot of work to do, basically change the whole car.”#F1 #ItalianGP
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) September 1, 2024
