Max Verstappen Surrenders: 'We Are Not Going to Win Any More Races'

Alex Harrington | Sep 1, 2024

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks to the media during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on August 31, 2024 in Monza, Italy. / Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Max Verstappen’s frustration peaked after a challenging Italian Grand Prix, where he conceded that Red Bull may not secure any more wins this season. Held at Monza, Italy, the 2024 race saw Verstappen endure a number of issues, ultimately finishing in sixth place while Charles Leclerc clinched victory.

The Dutch driver’s ordeal began on Lap 21 when understeer issues sent him into the gravel, narrowly avoiding a collision. Although he briefly led the race on Lap 20 during Carlos Sainz’s pit stop, Verstappen’s own pit stop on Lap 23 proved disastrous. A problematic rear right tire led to a lengthy 6.2-second stop, causing him to lose critical positions.

The challenges continued as he was overtaken by Lando Norris on Lap 41 after a close battle. He pitted again on Lap 42 for fresh medium tires, which resulted in a disappointing sixth-place finish.

Verstappen didn't hold back during his post-race debrief, calling his performance "absolutely crap."

"It was just another dramatic race. Nothing was running, the car was not running at all," he lamented. "I didn't like the strategy at all, and the pit stop was absolutely crap. We had to drive with less power, so basically everything went wrong."

His criticism extended to the team’s race strategy, which relied on a disastrous two-stop tactic.

"Where we drove didn't matter anyway. But you still try to drive your best race, but with our two-stoppers that was definitely not the case. On both hard and medium tyres we were too slow," Verstappen added. The double-stop strategy proved ineffective against other teams who managed their pit stops more efficiently.

Reflecting on the future, Verstappen was decidedly pessimistic. "The way things are going, we are not going to win any more races, but it is what it is," he concluded.

Despite the setback at Monza, Verstappen still holds a commanding lead in the season standings, well ahead of Lando Norris. This race, however, shows that the Milton Keynes team is in trouble.

Talking on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast, Verstappen continued in his disappointment:

"I thought we got the most out of the car in terms of position but not in the way we approached the race.

"The pace was not strong enough so we had to do our own race and had a bad pit stop.

"I think strategy-wise we didn't optimise it. Some cars did a one-stop and we did a two-stop which was not the best.

"For most of the race we couldn't run full engine power because of a problem so that doesn't help. All in all a bad race.

"It would still have been a bad race with full engine power but we may have been more competitive. We were in no man's land.

"If we don't change anything on the car it is all going to be bad from now on to the end of the season. We have a lot of work to do."