Max finishes sixth in Monza: 'Nothing went right'

Published on 01 September 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen finished the Italian Grand Prix in sixth place. It was a challenging race for Max, and it was all about damage control for the championship. Ferrari celebrated at the Autodrome Nazionale Monza, as Charles Leclerc secured the victory for the Italian team, ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

After the race at Monza, Max commented: “It was another dramatic race. Nothing worked. The car was terrible. I didn’t like the strategy at all. The pit stop was, of course, bad, and for a large part of the race, we had to drive with reduced power because we had a problem. So, basically, nothing went right.”

Regarding the strategy, Max said: “Where we were driving, it didn’t matter. Especially if you lose four seconds with a pit stop. If we had done a one-stopper, the end result would have been the same, but we would have been closer. You have to try to run your best race, and today, with the two-stopper we did, that wasn’t the case.” Max continued: “We have to work even harder and change the car. I think we know where the problem lies, but it’s time to turn it around and get the car back to the car we know from last year.”

The team of Oracle Red Bull Racing opts for a different strategy for the race. Max and Checo start on the hard tyres, while the rest of the top ten start on mediums. At lights out, the McLarens are off to a good start. Oscar Piastri has the best start and goes side by side with teammate Lando Norris for the lead. Piastri wins the duel, and Charles Leclerc benefits from Norris’ bad exit and overtakes the Brit too. Max gains a position at the start as George Russell misses the first corner and goes straight through the run-off zone. The Brit has some damage to the front wing of his Mercedes, but it doesn’t seem severe enough to pit for a new one. At the back, there is a collision between Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg. Both are able to continue, but Ricciardo is deemed at fault and receives a five-second penalty from the stewards.

In lap five, Nico Hulkenberg tries to gain a position over Yuki Tsunoda. The German locks up and hits the side of Tsunoda. Hulkenberg has to pit a lap later to replace his front wing, but the damage looks minimal. However, he receives a ten-second penalty. Tsunoda is less fortunate. In lap eight, he gets told to pit and retire from the race.

Perez manages to close the gap to Russell in lap ten, allowing him to make an overtaking move a lap later. On the long straight, the DRS opens, and Perez takes P7 from the Mercedes driver in the first chicane. A lap later, Russell pits for a new front wing and a set of hard tyres.

Norris is the first of the top five to pit in lap fifteen, aiming to undercut Leclerc. The call from the McLaren team comes late, causing Norris to lock up when entering the pit lane, hit a sponsor board. Fortunately, he gets away with it. The undercut works, as after the pit stops of Hamilton and Leclerc a lap later, Norris is indeed ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari. In lap seventeen, Piastri also pits. He manages to stay ahead of his teammate and rejoins the track in fourth.

In lap twenty, Sainz pits, dropping to sixth behind Leclerc. This puts Max in the lead, with teammate Checo in second place. Piastri runs third, ahead of Norris and Leclerc. The Red Bulls are the only ones yet to make the mandatory pit stop.

That call comes for Max in lap 23. He switches to a new set of hard tyres, which means he has to pit again. Every driver must use two different tyre compounds in a dry race. Max has a slow pit stop (6.2 seconds) and rejoins behind Ocon. A lap later, the Frenchman is an easy target for Max, and the world champion moves back into sixth place. Checo also switches to a new set of hard tyres, rejoining behind Max in P7.

In lap 31, Russell attempts to overtake Checo for seventh place. He gets alongside the Red Bull, but Perez gives Russell little room, and the Brit has no choice but to cut the corner and rejoin behind Checo. A lap later, Norris misses the chicane. His tyres are worn, and he sees Leclerc closing in quickly. The team calls him back into the pits for a second pit stop in lap 33. The stop is mediocre, and he rejoins behind Max in seventh.

With Norris behind him, Verstappen asks his engineer if he should defend against Norris and gets told to do so. Max manages to keep his championship rival behind for a few laps, but in lap 41, Norris overtakes the Dutchman. A lap later, Verstappen pits for a new set of mediums, dropping back to sixth.

Meanwhile, Piastri also pits, rejoining in P3 behind the Ferraris. They have only made one stop but complied with the tyre regulations. His engineer informs Norris over the radio that qualifying laps are needed to catch the Ferraris. With ten laps to go, Leclerc leads with a ten-second gap over teammate Sainz. Piastri, currently in P3, is closing in the Ferraris, followed closely by teammate Norris. Hamilton completes the top five, with Max in sixth.

Sainz defends his podium spot fiercely against the McLarens. However, Piastri is the first to pass Sainz and starts to chase Leclerc. He has six laps to close a gap of over nine seconds. A few laps later, Norris also passes Sainz’s Ferrari, taking third place.

Piastri pushes hard to try to close the gap to Leclerc, but unfortunately for the Australian driver it is not enough. In front of the ecstatic Tifosi, Leclerc wins Ferrari’s home race. The McLarens of Piastri and Norris finish second and third. In the final lap, Norris sets the fastest race lap, gaining eight points in the championship over Max. Verstappen finishes sixth, behind Sainz (P4) and Hamilton (P5).

Results Grand Prix Italy: