Max Verstappen ended Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix qualifying at Monza with frustration. After a strong showing in FP3 where he secured a top-three result, his performance took a nosedive when it mattered most.
The Red Bull Racing driver could only manage sixth place on the grid. More concerning, he reported a recurring mechanical issue with his rear axle that had plagued him throughout the weekend at the Monza circuit.
Recurring Complaint at the Worst Possible Time
Verstappen revealed that the problem was not a one-off. He had felt similar symptoms in FP3, but the team made no significant changes before qualifying.
“I suddenly had a feeling that something failed on the rear axle again, not the wing, but something else mechanically, which we have to look into again,” Verstappen said, as reported by Motorsport Week. “It’s not the first time this happened, but it happened at random times over the weekend. Unfortunately, now it happened at the most important part.”
No Teammate Help Leaves Verstappen Isolated
Verstappen's situation worsened when his teammate, Liam Lawson, failed to advance to Q3. Lawson was impeded by Oscar Piastri during Q2, resulting in a three-place grid penalty for the McLaren driver.
This left Verstappen to tackle Q3 without a tow from his teammate. Despite this, he argued that the outcome would not have been much different given the car's handling difficulties.
“When you have these kind of problems, it becomes super difficult to drive,” Verstappen explained. “The car is not compliant anymore when it should [be] over bumps and kerbs, and that’s just costing lap time. I actually thought that with how the car was responding in FP3, it was quite a comfortable car to drive for once. That was actually really nice but unfortunately we picked up another problem.”
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