Max Verstappen left Monza with a podium finish but little satisfaction, insisting Red Bull’s lack of straight-line deployment had left him fighting with one hand tied behind his back against Mercedes' drivers.
The Dutchman had looked capable of disrupting the Brackley squad's running order during the opening phase of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, climbing from fifth on the grid and embroiling himself in the battle at the sharp end.
But once the race settled into its rhythm, a familiar weakness began to undermine his challenge.
Even with fresher tyres after Red Bull called him in under the virtual safety car, Verstappen found himself unable to consistently hold off the Mercedes-powered opposition. The problem was not a lack of commitment from the four-time world champion; rather, it was what happened whenever the cars reached Monza’s long straights.
Mercedes had an advantage Verstappen could not defend against
Verstappen’s frustration centred squarely on deployment. While Red Bull could extract promising performance when using its overtake mode, Mercedes-powered cars appeared to possess a crucial advantage once that extra electrical deployment was available.
At Monza, where the ability to accelerate onto and defend along the straights is fundamental, that deficit quickly became a major handicap.
“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,” the Dutchman said after the race.
“And that is, of course, on a track like Monza, very tough. I know with the overtake mode, it looked quite promising, but as soon as I got in the lead, it was very hard to defend.”
The frustration was compounded by the fact that Verstappen often had the tyre advantage.
After his VSC pitstop, he was able to slice past Lewis Hamilton and the McLarens, yet the Red Bull's advantage disappeared whenever its rivals could deploy their additional electrical power.
“That has been a bit my problem throughout the whole race. Even when we had the VSC, we boxed, you have 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.”
That left Verstappen unable to turn his strong race pace into a genuine victory challenge against Mercedes, despite recovering impressively from a difficult start to the weekend.
A podium could not mask Red Bull’s straight-line weakness
There was at least some consolation in the four-time world champion's third-place finish. After the disappointment of Zandvoort, where the RB22 had failed to suit him, the team had managed to make significant progress between Friday and Saturday and produce a considerably more competitive package at its home event.
“For us to to be on the podium 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," he said.
“The car was definitely in a better window but we still have a few bits and areas that we know that need to be better, plus the obvious - the deployment on on the straights.”
That final weakness was impossible to ignore. Verstappen's pace through the corners and under braking allowed him to fight back, but every time the race moved onto the straights, the balance of power shifted against him.
Asked how much enjoyment he had actually taken from his battles, his answer captured the irritation of being fast enough to attack but not fast enough to defend.
“To be honest, not a lot when people just drive by you like you're a turtle,” he replied when asked how much he enjoyed his battles at Monza. “But yeah just send it back round the outside.”
The Red Bull's strength under braking at least gave Verstappen a weapon of his own. He used it repeatedly to launch attacks into the heavy braking zones, including two moves at Turn 4 on the opening laps.
“The car's good on the brakes, so that helps, so good confidence to attack the braking zones. And two times on the start, I managed to do that in Turn 4. I mean it is enjoyable, but at the same time frustrating, you know? But I just try to maximise everything that I I can," he concluded.
For Verstappen, then, Monza offered an encouraging glimpse of Red Bull's recovery — but also a blunt reminder of what remains missing. The RB22 had enough pace to put him on the podium, yet not enough electrical firepower to let him stay in the fight once Mercedes unleashed its deployment advantage.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
