Verstappen Issues Damning Verdict: 'At Moment, Both Championships Are Not Realistic'

Sunday, 01 September 2024 at 21:30

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen asserted after the 2024 Italian Grand Prix that winning in any of the two Championships wasn't realistic for his team.

It became clear that the 16th round of the 2024 season would be a challenging weekend for Red Bull right after the qualifying session, where Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez placed in P7 and P8.

Going into the race, Max Verstappen knew that if he failed to progress up the order, his championship lead could be cut by as much as 20 points today.

While his lead was ultimately reduced only by eight points, the Dutchman was definitely not happy after the Sunday Grand Prix race. He finished in P6, which matched his worst result of the season from the Monaco Grand Prix.

Luckily for Verstappen, his Championship rival Lando Norris finished only third. In the race, basically, everything went wrong for the Red Bull Racing driver, from strategy to the performance of the car. Speaking to the media afterward, he said:

“"Unfortunately, I don't have a degree in engineering or aerodynamics, but I think in terms of feedback, I've said all I can do."”

Max Verstappen coming out of the 'Della Roggia' chicane at Monza Circuit, followed by Lando Norris in a McLaren during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen, followed by Lando Norris at "Della Roggia" chicane at Monza Circuit

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“"It's clear to everyone now what we have to do. We have to turn the car upside down. I've said a lot, yeah. And now it's up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car."”

What the triple World Champ cannot understand is how quickly his team not only lost its dominance but even fell behind their rivals. He said:

“We basically went from a very dominant car to an undrivable car in the space of, what, six to eight months. That is very weird for me. And yeah, we need to really turn the car upside down."”

While Red Bull leads the Constructors' Championship only by eight points after the Italian Grand Prix, the Dutchman still has a pretty decent lead of 62 points in the Drivers' Championship. Nevertheless, Verstappen asserted that if things continue as they did in Monza, both Championships will be lost.

“"Yeah, I mean, it doesn't matter. With how we are at the moment, we are bad everywhere. So we need a lot of changes. At the moment, both championships are not realistic."”

The 26-year-old Red Bull Racing driver said before the race weekend at Monza Circuit that his life won't change if he loses the Championship, and he seemed to be at peace with that possibility. Do you think he might slowly be giving up?