Disappointed Red Bull eager to find the right balance for Monza

On the back of a tough Dutch Grand Prix, reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen is eager to bounce back at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, pinning hopes on a comprehensive pre-event setup work.

Having won all three races on home soil since 2021, Max Verstappen had to content for a second place at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The Dutchman looked strong in qualifying, but was unable to beat the McLaren of Lando Norris. Despite jumping to the front at the start, Verstappen finished his home race second, some 23 seconds behind his British rival.

Red Bull has been very strong at Monza in recent years, and Verstappen hopes that an extensive setup work will help him join the battle for victory at the last European round.

“We were disappointed with the result in Zandvoort as you always want to get the win in front of your home crowd, but we are ready for another week of racing.

“There is a lot of work to be done and the Team has been working hard to get the best set up we can and the balance of the car right. Obviously Monza is such a fast track, so we will see how we go here this week.

‘A lot is new, including the tarmac and kerbs, so we have a lot of work to do there to try and make sure we are competitive.

“The fans are very passionate there and always out in full force and I think the weather looks good this week too. It’s good to be at an old-school track, so we will see what the week brings,” concluded Verstappen.

His team-mate Sergio Pérez showed an improved pace compared to previous rounds at Zandvoort. The Mexican qualified fifth on the grid on Saturday, and finished a place behind.

However, the 34-year-old looked definitely much more comfortable behind the wheel of his RB20 than in the past months.

“As a Team we struggled to maximise performance in Zandvoort but I think we learnt some important lessons about the car, lessons we can take to Monza.”

While Pérez thinks that McLaren has made huge inroads recently, he hopes that Red Bull will be able to make steps forward, having learned from the data gained at Zandvoort.

“We ran different set-ups across the two cars in the Netherlands, and we now have more information and data to analyse on which direction to take. McLaren have obviously taken a huge step forward in their development, and we know we need to work harder than ever to ensure we keep the lead in both championships.

“For me, Zandvoort felt like a consistent weekend but I still have more to give and more to find in the car. We struggled with balance across the weekend but the weather played a huge part in that, Monza should be more positive conditions, there is a new track layout and a new surface in places, we should be quick around here and we are ready for the fight,” noted Pérez.