Red Bull Boss Reveals Verstappen's Monza Pole Secret

Red Bull celebrated Max Verstappen's surprising pole position at Monza, a rare achievement this season. Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport advisor, has shed light on the factors behind this sudden surge in performance, placing the team in an ideal position for victory at Italy's high-speed temple.

Why it matters

Verstappen's pole at Monza, a circuit typically challenging for Red Bull, signifies a potential breakthrough in understanding their car's setup for varied conditions and showcases the team's ability to adapt and optimize under pressure. It also sets up a thrilling race with Ferrari on their home turf.

The Details

Marko attributes the success to several key areas:

• Strong Friday Performance: "I can't even remember when we had such a good Friday," Marko stated, indicating a solid foundation for the weekend's setup work.
• Realistic Practice Approach: Unlike before, Red Bull now runs at full engine power from the start of practice sessions, providing more accurate and realistic data for car development.
• Technical Updates & Risk-Taking: A new underbody was introduced at Monza, which Verstappen immediately felt comfortable with. The team also took a calculated risk by setting flatter wings to optimize for race pace without sacrificing too much qualifying speed.
• Verstappen's Precision: Marko lauded Verstappen's detailed feedback, noting his "exact instructions" to his race engineer, down to hundredths of a second and tire pressure nuances. "Ultimately, only a driving genius like Max can implement it so perfectly," Marko added.

What's Next

Despite the strong qualifying performance, Marko acknowledges a historical trend: "No one has won from pole here since Leclerc in 2019." However, he remains optimistic, citing increased difficulty in overtaking, as seen in Belgium, and encouraging long-run pace from Friday practice. If Max Verstappen can control the pace from the front, Red Bull is confident in their ability to manage the race and tires for a strong result.