– Max Verstappen is fed up with the recurring problems at Red Bull after qualifying for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. The world champion will start in Monza only from sixth place after his Red Bull once again had a problem with the rear axle in the decisive part of qualifying.
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Initially, the situation had improved significantly on Saturday. “FP3 was actually very good, we had a very good improvement overnight,” Verstappen explains. The car was therefore in a much better window. “It was finally a much better balance in the car.”
However, something got in the way again during qualifying. “I have the feeling that something failed again on the rear axle,” says Verstappen. The rear wing was not affected this time, but “something else mechanical” that Red Bull now has to investigate again.
“It happens at random times”
What is especially frustrating for Verstappen is that this is not an isolated case. “It’s not the first time this has happened,” he says. However, the problem occurs at different times during a weekend. “It happens at random times during the weekend.”
This time, it caught the Red Bull driver precisely in the decisive phase. “Unfortunately, it happened now in the most important part,” Verstappen explains. As a result, the car no longer drove as it had previously in the third practice session.
Because the mechanical limitation directly affects the behavior of the car. “When you have such problems, it becomes super difficult to drive the car,” says Verstappen. On bumps and curbs, the Red Bull was no longer as forgiving as it should have been. This cost time on the lap accordingly.
After FP3, Verstappen had even gained hope. Although he did not believe he could fight for pole position, the car was “for the first time” relatively comfortable to drive. “That was actually really nice,” he says. All the more annoying that a problem occurred again in qualifying.
No problem with the rear wing
An initially obvious suspicion was not confirmed. Verstappen was asked whether the problem with the closing of the rear wing had occurred again. His answer was clear: “No, that was not the problem.”
The problem with the rear axle was different this time. Verstappen emphasizes that Red Bull generally has to deal with several problems. “We have many problems this year, and this is one of them.”
The lack of support from teammate Liam Lawson also made the situation more difficult. Lawson had already been eliminated in Q2 and therefore could not help Verstappen with a slipstream in Q3 as planned. Additionally, Lawson was hindered by Oscar Piastri in turn two.
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Verstappen himself still had a slipstream from other drivers on his first attempt and described that lap as “okay.” The last lap, however, was not good. He did not want to emphasize a direct connection between the missing Lawson slipstream and his sixth place.
Verstappen finally demands a problem-free car
For the race on Sunday, Verstappen is therefore initially less interested in questions about possible penalties or changes in the starting grid. He has a much simpler wish: “I just want a car that is 100 percent okay. That would be nice.”
Too many weekends this year have already been marked by problems. “We have too many weekends where things just go wrong,” says Verstappen. Either something breaks or the team cannot operate the car at 100 percent.
He explicitly praises the team’s work on Saturday. Especially the improvement in balance made him very satisfied. “I was very happy with FP3. I think the team did a great job to finally find a much better balance in the car.”
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t transfer that into qualifying,” is Verstappen’s sobering conclusion.
“We don’t have full control over some components”
When asked whether the problems might be related to the quality of the components or errors in the garage, Verstappen explicitly defends his mechanics.
“I think the mechanics are very good,” says the Red Bull driver. He sees the problem rather with certain parts of the car: “I believe we don’t have full control over some components on the car.”
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According to Verstappen, a connection with the attempt to save weight is also not the cause. He points out that he has already experienced similar problems with the older car.
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