Helmut Marko and Christian Horner explained the problem with Max Verstappen’s car at the end of the race. The Red Bull Racing driver had to slow down to avoid an even bigger problem. Ultimately, it had to do with the temperatures in the car, but there was no question of a possible failure. Marko could therefore laugh after the Grand Prix.
Verstappen managed to break the record for the most wins in a row during the Italian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver now has ten victories in a row, but the Dutchman had to work hard for his victories. Carlos Sainz was allowed to start from pole position and due to the excellent straight-line speed of the SF-23, the Spaniard Verstappen was able to keep a few laps behind him. After a mistake by the Ferrari driver, Verstappen was finally able to pass.
At the end of the race it also became exciting for the Red Bull driver. Gianpiero Lambiase reported that Verstappen had to slow down due to a problem with the car. “That had to do with rising temperatures that we had to keep under control,” Marko told Motorsport.com. “We had to keep those within a certain working window. Moreover, he was twelve seconds ahead, so there was no reason to take any risks.’
On Sunday it was warmer in Monza than the Friday and Saturday of the Grand Prix weekend. The problems were not so big that a failure came into play, but Red Bull certainly did not want to take any risks. ‘We saw some parameters in terms of temperature that were still under control, but for Gasly quite a lot of cars were together. We didn’t want Max to end up in the dirty air. That’s why we took it a bit easier in the last laps,” explains team boss Horner.
Marko: ‘Took the idea out of Verstappen’s head’
Despite Red Bull having to hold their breath, Marko also sees the funny side of the problem. ‘This was also positive in getting the idea of ​​a possible fastest race lap out of Max’s head!’ Even before the race started, there was already a problem with Red Bull’s sister team. Yuki Tsunoda fell silent in the warm-up lap. However, alarm bells need not be ringing in Milton Keynes. “That was not a systematic problem, but something specific to that car,” says Marko.
