Max Verstappen makes RB20 engine power admission as Red Bull problems stack up
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen revealed he was unable to run his engine at full power during the Italian Grand Prix at the weekend, due to an issue.
The reigning World Champion finished down in sixth place as he saw eight points shaved off his Drivers’ Championship lead, though he still holds a 62-point advantage over Lando Norris heading into the final eight rounds of the season.
Max Verstappen reveals Red Bull engine issue during Italian Grand Prix
Verstappen was seen hitting his steering wheel in frustration after an uncharacteristic six-second pit stop from Red Bull on Sunday, as part of what became a frustrating weekend for the Dutch driver.
He believes the team did not run the Italian Grand Prix weekend to the best of its abilities, in a car which he had previously described as “undriveable” after qualifying.
To compound those concerns, he revealed he was unable to run at full power in the race at Monza.
“In terms of position, yes, but I think how we approach the race, not,” Verstappen told Sky F1 when asked if he got all he could out of the Italian Grand Prix.
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“I mean, first of all the pace, of course, was not strong enough, so we had to do our own race. But we had a bad pit stop, I think strategy wise, we didn’t optimise it as well.
“Some cars did a one-stop, I think our two-stop was not the best for most of the race. We also couldn’t run full engine power because there was a problem. So also that doesn’t help. All in all, just a bad race.”
Verstappen does not believe that lacking his full power was a factor in how his Red Bull performed overall, however, finishing in P6 when Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren all appeared faster than his car over the course of the weekend.
When asked if that engine issue had hampered his afternoon, the three-time World Champion replied: “It would have still been a bad race, but at least maybe you are a bit more competitive. Because like this we were in no man’s land basically, doing our own race.
“If we don’t change anything on the car, it’s all going to be bad from now onwards to the end of the season. So we have a lot of work to do.”
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