Verstappen: Undriveable RB20 has turned into “a monster”

Max Verstappen says that Red Bull’s RB20 has turned into “a monster” – and his team now has to “turn the car upside down” to find performance.

From seventh on the grid Verstappen finished a distant sixth in the Italian GP, having lost time with a bad pit stop.

However, the car lacked speed throughout, and at times he was missing the full Honda PU performance.

The only good news was that title rival Lando Norris could manage only third place.

“It was pretty boring,” said Verstappen when asked about his race by this writer. “We’re too slow. The pitstop, of course, cost me a bit. I couldn’t run full power for most of the race as well with the engine, because we had a little issue.

“And I think also strategy-wise, we could have done a better job to be at least a little bit more competitive in the fight or whatever. It wouldn’t have changed the position. But yeah, I think we didn’t do our optimal race.”

Verstappen explained a radio message about people in the team staying awake.

“That had to do with my battery percentage,” he said. “Because, of course, there are certain levels where you’re at, and certain modes that you use.

“And basically I see the battery, of course, topping up, and at one point, then maybe you can go into a faster mode. So I asked, and then they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, you can.’ Like, come on!

“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. It’s still in an F1 race where you have to maximise everything.

“I think, today and this weekend, we were weak on a lot of fronts. And a pit stop like that again… It’s not ideal.”

Asked about his title prospects he said: “At the moment, both championships are not realistic.

“The car is undrivable. It’s a massive balance problem that we have, and that, of course, is not only over one lap, but also in the race.”

Asked if Adrian Newey’s input is being missed he said: “I’ve always said that I would have liked for Adrian to stay always, but it’s not about that now, because last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster. So we have to turn it around.”

Verstappen made it clear that he has voiced his opinion about the RB20 in team technical meetings.

“I’ve said a lot, and now it’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car,” he said.

“Because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undrivable car in the space of, what, six to eight months? So that is very weird for me, and we need to really turn the car upside down.

“I’ve said a lot, and now it’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car, because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undrivable car in the space of, what, six to eight months? So that is very weird for me, and we need to really turn the car upside down.”

He added: “Unfortunately, I don’t have a degree in engineering or aerodynamics, but I think I gave everything that I could give.”

“I mean, it was quite clear I think for everyone, what we have to do. Now we have to turn it around. And it’s not easy to do that very quickly. And then if we can put that on the car, that it becomes more drivable.”

He conceded that third place for Norris helped his cause.

“In a way, yes, but that’s not how I like to look at the championship,” he said. “We have to go from our own fortunes, and today and this whole weekend has been very bad.”