Monza: Max Verstappen in big trouble, team principal Mekies explains

It was a classic false start: Max Verstappen, winner at Monza in 2022, 2023 and 2025, had to sit out the first practice session (with test driver Ayumi Iwasa taking the wheel), whilst in the second session things went completely wrong for the 28-year-old Dutchman.

Time and again, the four-time Formula 1 champion came over the radio to complain about his stubborn car.

Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies said of his star driver’s difficulties: “We can’t sugar-coat it – we’ve got a lot of work to do. Things went quite well in the first practice session, but we had major difficulties in the second.”

“We were basically lacking reference points. That’s because in the first practice session we had the young Iwasa driving, as well as Liam Lawson on only his second GP weekend with us in 2026. Consequently, in the second practice session, we found ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t get the car to perform to the standard we should be capable of. It’s going to be a long night.”

“There can be no excuses, because when it comes to preparing for a GP weekend, we’re at least on a par with the other teams. Nor can we say that we don’t know the car well enough yet, because after all, we’re now in the second half of the season.”

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“What is true, however, is that there have been a few instances where we struggled on Friday, got faster on Saturday and were then able to put in a decent performance on Sunday.”

“The specific problem here at the moment is that we’re not getting the most out of our car.”

Laurent Mekies admits: “The 2026 cars are more complicated than the previous ones. This means that drivers generally struggle when they’ve had to sit out the first practice session. But everyone knows that Max can jump into the car and be fast straight away. So, in our case, I’d say it’s down to us. The car’s balance and performance aren’t at our usual level.”