Missed opportunity
Max Verstappen will start from the third row tomorrow in the Italian GP at Monza. The Red Bull Dutch driver secured the sixth time in Q3 but will be promoted by one position thanks to the three-place grid penalty given to Oscar Piastri for impeding the other Red Bull of Liam Lawson. Compared to other occasions, however, Verstappen seemed more disappointed by this result, because this time the Dutchman’s feeling about his RB22 was better than before.
Read more Gasly is not satisfied with pole position: “Tomorrow I will give everything to win”
“Yes, it’s a pity – the Dutchman admitted speaking with Viaplay journalists – I had a better feeling in FP3, but just as I was about to go out we saw that there was something wrong with the car. It has happened often this season: we run into problems during a session or between sessions, when something breaks. Every time it’s something different. Even in qualifying the problem was that”. Verstappen then explained that the problem specifically concerned the rear axle of his car.
“If we didn’t have these problems at the rear, where something is wrong, then actually things would look pretty good – observed the four-time world champion – I think we are losing at least two tenths because of this rear-end problem“. Taking Verstappen’s estimate as accurate, this means the Dutchman could have fought for the front row with Pierre Gasly and George Russell.
Read more Official: Piastri penalized for impeding, drops to sixth, Ferrari both in second row
Intervention allowed?
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s race, Verstappen also opened the door to some possible intervention on the car to fix this problem. A solution that is however prohibited by the regulations except in very particular and specific situations. More difficult, but not impossible, to imagine that the Dutchman wants to give up the third row to start from the pit lane with a perfectly fixed car: “I don’t know if we are allowed to change anything on the car – observed Red Bull’s #3 – sometimes if something is broken you get permission to change it, but other times you don’t. It depends. If it stays like this, it will be a difficult race. We would have much more potential, but if intervention is not allowed…“.
