The special radio message hinting at the key to Verstappen’s Italian GP pole

To the surprise of many, Max Verstappen grabbed his fifth pole-position of the Formula 1 season at the same track he had described the Red Bull car as “a monster” just 12 months ago.

So how have Verstappen and the Milton Keynes-based team been able to tame that monster and complete the fastest lap in F1 history?

“We have obviously learned and understood quite a lot since last year,” Verstappen replied when asked by Autosport. “The car is quite different from last year, although this season we’ve still had plenty of struggles with the car balance. That meant it was still a bit of a question mark to us how good or how bad the car would be here.

“But on Friday I was more satisfied with the balance than usual, and I think we know a bit better how to set up the car by now. That allows us to make small steps after each session instead of having to change a lot of things throughout the weekend. Obviously that has helped me a lot in qualifying.”

Lessons from Zandvoort put into practice

Where Verstappen speaks of a better Friday, he can’t even recall the last time he felt so comfortable in the Red Bull car during practice: “That has been a very long time ago. Also, the fact that we have only changed small things throughout the weekend has been a long time ago.”

According to Verstappen, this improved set-up direction is more important for Red Bull’s Saturday success than the new floor upgrade introduced this weekend.

“I think we have learned quite a lot about this year’s car in Zandvoort, and I hope that we can use that knowledge for the rest of the season,“ he said. “Of course, I have to say that our car works a bit better on medium- and low-downforce tracks anyway, because we always have quite a lot of understeer in the middle of the corners. That’s something you can manage a bit better around this track.”

Verstappen’s set-up choices key to Monza pole?

Beyond the lessons from Zandvoort, there has been another key factor in Monza: Verstappen himself pushed through on the final set-up choices ahead of qualifying. It’s exactly what his radio message after qualifying – “It worked! Relax there, it’s all good” – referred to.

“Before qualifying, some people within the team wanted to try something else with the set-up, but I said: ‘No, we shouldn’t do that.’” Verstappen said. “When I walked back to my room, I could still see some faces and a few people doubting that set-up direction. But I just felt, ‘this is what we need to do,’ and luckily it worked out.”

When pointed out that the final call was more his than the team’s, Verstappen elaborated in the Dutch media session: “Well, in the end you make these decisions with multiple people, also with GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] and some other people around me.

“Of course, I also understand why certain questions were asked and why some people might have preferred a different direction. But in the end, I’m the one sitting in the car and feeling certain things. I felt that we had to make just a few small changes and that it would be better then.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

Top speed a weapon compared to McLaren?

It worked – though Verstappen still had to deliver an impressive Q3 lap.

“In both of my Q3 laps I didn’t have any big mistakes,“ he said. “That’s always quite tricky to achieve at this track. Braking from such high speeds into these two chicanes, it’s not always easy to hit the apex properly, but today it all came together.”

On top of that, Verstappen had a slight top speed advantage over McLaren​, something that could prove useful in the race as well: “I think I have a little bit more top speed, but ultimately you need to go fast around the corners as well. They’re always very strong in that regard, and they manage the tyres better than anyone else. That’s still an important advantage they have, but I just hope that our car feels a bit better and that maybe I’ll have a chance to go with them.”