Max Verstappen says he was still dealing with the same problems as on Saturday and believes Red Bull cannot match Mercedes in terms of energy deployment. Nevertheless, a podium in Monza is a welcome boost after Zandvoort.
After Max Verstappen said on Saturday that the Red Bull car was made out of paper, the Dutchman managed to reach the most beautiful podium on the Formula 1 calendar a day later: the iconic podium hanging above Monza’s main straight.
The race pace proved considerably better than Verstappen had thought possible after qualifying, although he stresses that the same problems were still present. During the race, the four-time world champion already said that the rear axle felt broken, which relates back to what he explained to Dutch media on Saturday: certain components at the rear of the RB22 sometimes deteriorate during a session, which Verstappen calls "car degradation".
Verstappen stresses that the issue was still hampering him on Sunday on his way to third place behind the Mercedes duo. "It was still there, nothing changed. It’s just not good. You struggle on the bumps, the kerbs, and especially in the low-speed," the Dutchman said in the post-race press conference. "It’s still like the rear axle is just not very compliant. So, for sure, it was again not ideal today and costing us performance, but it is what it is."
Besides the issue at the rear of the RB22, Verstappen says there was another factor that made an even bigger difference: the Mercedes power unit is considerably more efficient in terms of energy deployment than Red Bull Ford Powertrains' version. "I think it was quite clear during the race that we just can’t keep up with the deployment of the Mercedes-powered cars, and that is, of course, very tough on a track like Monza," he said.
Partly because of that, Verstappen tried braking particularly late for the second chicane, where he fought back around the outside on a few occasions after being overtaken through Curva Grande. "[I didn’t enjoy it] a lot when people just drive by you like you’re a turtle," he said. "But, yeah, just send it back around the outside. The car is good on the brakes, so that helps. I had good confidence to attack the braking zones. Two times I managed to do that in Turn 2 and 4. That is enjoyable, but at the same time also frustrating. I just try to maximise everything that I can."
That maximising even meant Verstappen was able to fight with Mercedes for some time, but according to the Red Bull driver, that was mainly down to how powerful overtake mode was at Monza. According to Verstappen, Red Bull had little chance against Mercedes due to the difference in efficiency between the two power units. Still, he remains optimistic for the upcoming races, hoping the issues can be resolved soon.
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