Untelevised Max Verstappen team radio emerges after Italian Grand Prix

Untelevised team radio footage from the Italian Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Max Verstappen told Laurent Mekies that Red Bull’s “weaknesses” were “clearly” on display at Monza.

It came after Mekies hailed the team’s “big step forward” as “the best news” following a challenging weekend at Zandvoort last month.

Max Verstappen team radio after Italian Grand Prix

Verstappen claimed a third podium finish in four races at Monza on Sunday as he finished third behind Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

The four-time world champion briefly led the race following the restart, with Verstappen eventually crossing the line 11 seconds adrift of second-placed Russell.

Verstappen’s return to the podium came after a disappointing Dutch Grand Prix, where he retired early on after a mistake in drying conditions.

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Mekies admitted after Zandvoort that Red Bull had “nowhere to hide” following “a bit of a step back compared to where we were before the summer break.”

In an exchange with Verstappen following the chequered flag at Monza, Mekies was heard reporting “the best news” that Red Bull had made “a big step forward” in race pace.

Verstappen responded by highlighting that Red Bull’s shortcomings – a lack of straight-line speed compared to the Mercedes cars and the ride of the RB22 – were “clearly” apparent.

The full exchange between Verstappen, Mekies and race engineer GianPiero Lambiase on the cooldown lap went as follows:

Lambiase: “Well done, Max. That’s a valiant effort, mate, as always. Picked up a podium, so nice work. We’ll have fail 84, charge on and can you push out of Turn 2 for temperatures, please? Thank you.”

Mekies: “Well done, Max. Strong race pace. You stayed with these guys and massive, massive overtakes you have done all race long. But the best news is a strong race pace. We know we have more we can extract, but it was a big step forward today and mega overtaking. Well done.”

Verstappen: “Yeah. It is a very nice podium. Again, you can see clearly our weaknesses here. Just sitting back on the straights and the ride, as we know.”

Mekies: “Yep. All clear, Max. Well done.”

Verstappen was also heard saying he was “fighting with two hands behind my back” in the early stages of the race as he pestered the two Mercedes.

Verstappen: “It’s **** fighting with two hands behind my back against these guys!”

Lambiase: “You’re doing it well! So yeah, keep at it mate.”

Verstappen also highlighted a lingering issue with the rear axle of the Red Bull during the race, having first raised concerns after qualifying at Monza.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in the post-race press conference, Verstappen confirmed that the problem had plagued him throughout the grand prix.

He said: “Yeah, it’s still there. Nothing changed. It’s just not good.

“You struggle on the bumps, the kerbs, in the low-speed especially. It’s still like the rear axle is just not very compliant.

“So, for sure, it was not ideal again today and costing performance, but it’s what it is.”

He added: “I had my issues yesterday that, of course, were still there today.

“But also, 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.

“Of course, with the overtake mode it looked quite promising, but as soon as I got in the lead, it was very hard to defend.

“And that has been a bit my problem throughout the whole race.

“Even when we had the VSC, we boxed, had better tyres, I’m overtaking cars, but as soon as they can hang in that overtake mode, it’s just too powerful for us to actually really defend that, even on better tyres. So it took me a while even to clear the McLarens.

“But for us to be on the podium, I think after a very difficult weekend in Zandvoort where the car was not really to my liking, we managed to have a strong turnaround from Friday to Saturday and the car was definitely in a better window.

“But we still have a few bits and areas that we know need to be better, plus the obvious deployment on the straights.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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