Frustrated Verstappen says ‘undriveable’ car risks costing him F1 title

F1 golden boy Max Verstappen has made a candid admission that could produce the massive upset some fans have been waiting for.

Max Verstappen doesn’t believe he can retain his Formula One championship. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen doesn’t believe he can retain his Formula One world title after flopping at the Italian Grand Prix, slamming his Red Bull car as “undriveable” and a “monster”.

Dutchman Verstappen’s lead on Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship was cut to 62 points after he finished sixth at Monza as his barren run of GPs without a win was extended to six.

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Asked by reporters whether he was worried about losing what had looked like a certain fourth straight world crown when he won the Spanish GP in June, Verstappen said: “At the moment both championships (drivers’ and constructors’) are not realistic.

“The car is undriveable. It’s a massive balance problem that we have. And that of course is not only over one lap but also in the race.”

The 26-year-old expressed his frustration with changes to his car which, combined with a series of improvements made by Norris’ team McLaren, have left him and Red Bull looking over their shoulders.

With eight races remaining McLaren are just eight points behind Red Bull and on current form look favourites to win a first constructors’ title since 1998.

Max Verstappen doesn’t believe he can retain his Formula One championship.

Verstappen slammed his Red Bull car as “undriveable” and a “monster”.

“It’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undriveable car in the space of, what, six to eight months,” added Verstappen.

“We need to really turn the car upside down … with how we are at the moment, we are bad everywhere. So we need a lot of changes.

“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever. And we basically turned it into a monster.”

Red Bull has had two weeks to make changes to the car before the Azerbaijan GP, which will be held in Baku over September 13-15.

Ricciardo shuts down teammate

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s feeder team RB Racing rolled out a comprehensive upgrade package at the Italian Grand Prix, in a bid to recapture the competitive edge it enjoyed earlier in the season.

The Faenza-based team had been a consistent points scorer until an unintended shift in car characteristics, introduced with upgrades in Spain, forced the team to abandon several new components.

Despite the updates, Yuki Tsunoda wasn’t impressed. The Japanese driver bluntly stated that RBs latest revisions were “not even close” to delivering the lap time improvements the team had hoped for.

Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo, who was driving the older-spec VCARB 01, wants to give the new upgrades a try himself during this weekend’s Baku race before forming an opinion on the tweaks.

Daniel Ricciardo wants to believe in the RB plan.

“Unless the team sees some strong negatives, the plan is to still run them in Baku,” Ricciardo explained after finishing 13th in Italy.

He suggested that while the upgrades might produce more load, they could also shift the car’s balance, making the set up more challenging.

“Maybe that is what we just didn’t get quite right to exploit all of the grip, but it is hard for me to speak on,” Ricciardo added.

“I want to believe it can still be good because obviously the last one wasn’t too good for us.”

Originally published as Frustrated Verstappen says ‘undriveable’ car risks costing him F1 title