Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing/9th) at Monza: “I’m sliding around as if on ice”

The second practice session at the Autodromo Nazionale has concluded, with Max Verstappen finishing in 9th place. The 28-year-old Dutchman had his work cut out for him right from the start, as the 2022 Monza winner was 2023 and 2025, was forced to watch from the sidelines – as Red Bull Racing put young driver and reserve Ayumu Iwasa in the car.

Verstappen was not at all happy with the front axle during the first quarter of an hour of the second practice session. Test driver Iwasa had tried out two versions of the front wing in the first practice session. Max over the radio: “I couldn’t feel any downforce at all on the front axle.”

Verstappen came in, adjustments were made to the wing (or changed it – unfortunately we couldn’t see), after which the four-time world champion moved up to 8th place, but was a good half a second slower not only than leader Antonelli but also than third-placed Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls’ car!

Verstappen was still dissatisfied: “I’ve got no grip at low speeds; I’m skidding around in turns 1, 3, 4 and 5 as if on ice. Oh, and the brakes aren’t working either.”

Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher pointed out: “He hadn’t been able to take part in the first practice session, so he lacked a feel for the track. What’s more, with the tarmac so hot, the car slips more than usual anyway.”

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Verstappen improved slightly, now 0.547 seconds behind the new leader George Russell (and two tenths behind Lindblad). His dissatisfaction was also evident in the fact that Verstappen (in P6 at this stage) was behind his RBR team-mate Liam Lawson (P5).

Ralf Schumacher again: “Sometimes you just have to be a bit patient and see how the track develops. But we’ve seen this before at Red Bull Racing over the last few years. Often the initial set-up on Friday wasn’t quite right, and then the race simulator was running flat out all night into Saturday, and by qualifying things were looking a bit better for Max.”

The front-runners became significantly faster; Verstappen made less progress, resulting in a drop to P9, whilst Lindblad was once again the fastest Red Bull driver (in seventh).

Max was still gruff over the radio. After a change to the ride height, he reported: “The car is bouncing far too much now; I don’t know if this is the right way to go. The car really isn’t good on the front axle.”

Ralf Schumacher: “Max is too far off the front-runners; I hope things improve on Saturday. Actually, I’d tipped him for a good result at Monza.”