Breaking news
Formula 1 Italian GP
Verstappen doubts party mode ban hurt Red Bull in qualifying
Max Verstappen doubts the FIA’s ban on Formula 1 engine ‘party’ modes caused Red Bull’s struggles in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
Luke Smith
Published: Sep 5, 2020, 4:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Italy marks the first weekend where the FIA’s new technical directive banning drivers for changing engine modes during qualifying and the race takes effect, forcing them to use the same setting throughout sessions.
Red Bull endured a difficult qualifying session at Monza as Verstappen could only finish fifth, nine-tenths of a second down on polesitter Lewis Hamilton, while teammate Alexander Albon qualified ninth.
Second-placed Valtteri Bottas said after qualifying he was unsure how “happy” Red Bull would be with the engine mode ban that it encouraged given Mercedes’ dominance.
But Verstappen said he did not believe the ban on the high-power engine modes sparked Red Bull’s slump in qualifying, putting the result down to the RB16’s weakness at low downforce tracks.
“No, honestly I don’t think we went backwards,” Verstappen said, referring to the lack of party mode.
“I think this is also a bit of a weird track to really see the full benefit or differences, because Monza, everybody is in the tow, some have a better tow than others.
“We have to wait a bit until we go to a normal track again. Nobody wants a tow and to drive in clear air. Too early to say anything about that.
“But I never expected it to be very different. Of course some other people were shooting some different words. It is what it is.
“As you can see, it didn’t really shake up anything, but I also didn’t expect that.”
Read Also:
- Hamilton: Mercedes qualifying strategy "bang on"
- Sainz left "shaking" after "messing up" Monza P3 lap
- Leclerc: Ferrari struggles "hurt even more" at Monza
Verstappen said that he “tried everything” with the set-up on his car to try and find more pace, but found he was setting similar times regardless of what tweaks were made.
“I tried everything, very low, medium-low, and a little bit more [downforce],” Verstappen said.
“I ended up doing the same lap time all of the time, so it just shows that our car is not good enough at the moment.
“Around here, we know top speed-wise, we are down on power to Mercedes especially, and that’s a given, but that is not the deficit we have to them at the moment.
“It’s not that big, the deficit in power. From our side, we just didn’t have a good balance in the car, but not only that, but we’re also lacking grip.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton: Mercedes qualifying strategy "bang on"
Next article Mercedes prepared for engine modes ban before FIA ruling
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
10 h
‘I’ll try to win, somehow’ – Can Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fight back for F1 Brazilian GP victory?
More from
Red Bull Racing
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Max Verstappen watched Premier League football during Brazilian GP qualifying delay: "12 hours I'll never get back"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen watched Premier League football during Brazilian GP qualifying delay: "12 hours I'll never get back"
Latest news
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
14 min
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
28 min
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe