Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2024

“Can I have my PU performance back?” – Verstappen’s “tough” Monza race on his radio

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Championship leader Max Verstappen endured a rare difficult weekend in Italy where his Red Bull was simply not on the same level of performance as McLaren, Mercedes or Ferrari.

For only the second time in 2024, Verstappen finished a grand prix outside of the top five positions. It was his worst finish since the Monaco Grand Prix – another weekend where Red Bull struggled for pace, in which he also finished in sixth.

Verstappen’s Italian Grand Prix radio

Jump to:

“I got a penalty for that”
“Car behind now Checo”
“My front-left doesn’t look ‘amazing’”
“Could be racing Ocon”
“If we push more I’m going to kill my tyre”
“Can I have my PU performance back?”
“The battery is not charging”
“Can the people in the background please be awake?”
“This power is very slow”
“Sorry we couldn’t give you a better car”

“I got a penalty for that”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2024
Verstappen complained Hamilton squeezed him at the Roggia chicane

Starting from seventh on the grid on hard tyres among a sea of rivals on mediums, Verstappen had an eventful opening lap. He ran behind Lewis Hamilton at the start, then overtook the other Mercedes of George Russell through Curva Grande, who had run off at the first corner and been forced to take the escape road.

Entering the Roggia chicane, Verstappen took the outside line and found himself squeezed by Hamilton under braking. As he rounded the corner, he was then clipped by Russell on his right-rear, which broke the endplate off Russell’s front wing.

Lap: 1/53 VER: 1’30.354
Verstappen Verstappen runs close to Hamilton into Roggia
Lewis didn’t leave a car’s width…
Lambiase Yep, that’s clear, Max. We’ve seen it. Thank you.
Verstappen I mean, I got a penalty for that, so…
Lambiase Mode ‘six’. Mode ‘six’.
Verstappen Verstappen is clipped by Russell out of Roggia
Check my left rear tyre, because I touched something a bit.
Lambiase Yeah, that’s okay for now, Max.
Lap: 2/53 VER: 1’26.170
Lambiase For info, Max, DRS is enabled.
Lambiase So race update, Max: Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, Hamilton. Car behind [Russell] has front wing damage. You know the plan now, don’t you?
Verstappen Yep.

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“Car behind now Checo”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2024
Verstappen wasn’t as far ahead of Perez as usual

Sitting in sixth, the highest-place runner on hard tyres, Verstappen knew he would have to run further into the race before stopping than the five cars ahead of him. He largely matched the pace of the cars around him as Red Bull observed those on medium tyres were experiencing graining on their left-front tyres around the clockwise circuit – something teams had encountered in practice on the resurfaced track.

Lap: 8/53 VER: 1’24.918
Lambiase Tyres are still creeping up, Max. I’ll let you know once they’ve stabilised.
Lap: 9/53 VER: 1’25.050
Verstappen Mode ‘six’ or ‘seven’?
Lambiase Mode ‘seven’ is fine for now, Max. We can trickle the battery up. I’ll just monitor the gap behind to Russell, currently 1.5.
Lap: 10/53 VER: 1’24.964
Lambiase Currently happy with your sliding speeds, Max, so just keep it there for now.
Lambiase So Hamilton’s front-left tyre starting to open up a little bit. Just be careful of your gap to him at the moment.
Lambiase And gap behind: 1.9.
Lap: 11/53 VER: 1’24.978
Lambiase Strat ‘seven’. Strat ‘seven’.
Lambiase Okay, Piastri’s last lap was a ‘24.1. Hamilton ahead; same pace as yourself.
Lambiase Sergio Perez passes Russell for seventh
Okay, car behind now Checo, Max. Russell grained his front-left.

“My front-left doesn’t look ‘amazing’”

Although his tyres were a harder compound than his rivals ahead of him, it was soon Verstappen’s turn to experience some tyre wear of his own. While Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri pitted ahead of him, Verstappen continued on and eventually moved into the lead when Carlos Sainz Jnr was the last of the medium starters to pit.

Lap: 12/53 VER: 1’24.968
Lambiase Okay. Everything has stabilised, Max. But at this stage, don’t think there’s any urgency to over-stress the tyres. Keep it going. Not sure there’s any other taking opportunities just yet.
Lambiase Okay, Hamilton now suffering a little bit more with front-left graining.
Lap: 14/53 VER: 1’25.287
Lambiase Just keep monitoring that front-left slip, Max.
Lambiase Yeah, too much understeer.
Lambiase And diff ‘seven’ or diff ‘six’ available.
Verstappen It’s mid-corner, mate.
Lambiase Torque ‘five’ available, Max, if you want it.
Lap: 16/53 VER: 1’25.244
Verstappen Erm… My front-left doesn’t look, let’s say, ‘amazing’…
Lambiase Yep. We’re aware, Max. Thank you.

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“Could be racing Ocon”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2024
Slow pit stop added to Verstappen’s frustrations

By lap 21, Verstappen led ahead of his team mate, around three seconds behind him. But it was soon time for him to make his first stop. Red Bull fitted another set of hard tyres onto his car, committing to a two-stop. However a slight delay with his right-rear wheel change cost Verstappen more time, to his frustration.

Lap: 17/53 VER: 1’25.340
Lambiase Pick up the pace as best you can at this stage, Max.
Lap: 18/53 VER: 1’25.469
Lambiase Mode ‘six’. Mode ‘six’.
Lap: 20/53 VER: 1’25.559
Verstappen I’m trying to manage it.
Lambiase Understood. You can pick up the pace, Max. Can I have a flap adjustment for the same stint, please?
Lap: 22/53 VER: 1’29.668
Verstappen Yeah, I think three clicks.
Lambiase Box this lap, Max. Box this lap.
Lambiase Box and ‘pit confirm’, Max. Box and ‘pit confirm’. Strat ’12’ in pit lane.
Lap: 23/53 VER: 1’47.839
Lambiase Verstappen pits and leaves his pit box after a delay, thumping his steering wheel
Strat ’14’. Strat ‘one-four’.
Lambiase Verstappen leaves the pit lane
Could be racing Ocon here, Max. Could be racing Ocon. I think he’ll come past… yeah, Ocon’s come past.
Verstappen Fuck, man!
Lambiase So Russell is the car behind.
Verstappen So how do we do this stint then?
Verstappen We just get on with it now, Max.

“If we push more I’m going to kill my tyre”

With new hard tyres that were the same compound as the five cars ahead of him but several laps fresher, Verstappen was able to keep the same pace as them. However, he soon received an instruction to adjust a setting on his car, before being informed that Red Bull had reduced his power unit output for an undisclosed reason.

Lap: 25/53 VER: 1’23.801
Lambiase Fail ’20’. Fail ‘two-zero’, fail, on the main straight, Max.
Lap: 26/53 VER: 1’23.618
Verstappen I already did it before the last corner.
Lambiase Thank you.
Lap: 31/53 VER: 1’23.424
Lambiase Okay, Max, so Piastri is the benchmark at the moment in terms of pace: ‘23.0. We were losing four tenths in total: two tenths on the straights, two tenths in six and seven [Lesmos] only. And there is graining for cars ahead on this hard tyre. Lando’s struggling.
Verstappen I think [turns] six, seven, if we push more, I’m going to kill my tyre.
Lambiase Yep, that’s okay, Max. We’ve had to disable some PU performance, which is why you may have noticed the clips increase. Hopefully we’ll get that back for you later.

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“Can I have my PU performance back?”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2024
Red Bull allowed Verstappen to turn his engine up slightly as Norris gained on him

Ahead, Norris was the first of the cars ahead of make his second stop. He rejoined on a second set of hard tyres, a few seconds behind Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was feeling happier with his second set of tyres compared to his starting set and did not get overtaken quickly by the McLaren.

Lap: 36/53 VER: 1’23.559
Verstappen Norris has closed to within two seconds
When it’s possible to defend, do you want me to race him?
Lambiase Yes please, yep. If we enter that situation, Max, it would be mode “eight”. And one click of “overtake” available into turn one.
Verstappen Every lap?
Lambiase Yes.
Lap: 38/53 VER: 1’23.427
Verstappen Just let me know the gaps now.
Lambiase Yep, understood. Currently one second.
Lap: 39/53 VER: 1’23.501
Lambiase Okay, 0.8.
Verstappen Can I have my PU performance back, or not?
Lambiase We gave you half a step, Max.
Lap: 40/53 VER: 1’24.337
Lambiase 0.4.
Lap: 41/53 VER: 1’28.738
Lambiase 0.3.
Lambiase Norris passes Verstappen along the pit straight
Box and pit confirm, Max. Box and pit confirm, Max.

“The battery is not charging”

As soon as the McLaren passed him, Verstappen was called in to the pits at the end of lap 42 for medium compound tyres. As he left the pits, in sixth position, Red Bull helped to prepare Verstappen for an attempt on the fastest lap of the race with his first flying lap on his new tyres.

Lap: 42/53 VER: 1’44.090
Lambiase Display ‘seven’, position ‘eight’. Display ‘seven’, position ‘eight’.
Lambiase Max, let’s have recharge ‘on’. Recharge ‘on’.
Verstappen The battery is not charging…
Lambiase Verstappen is approaching the final corner
It’ll be fine now, Max. Just go recharge ‘off’ at turn 11 [Alboreto]. It’ll be strat ‘one’ and mode ‘one’. Strat ‘one’, mode ‘one’… mode ‘two’, correction. Fastest lap is a ‘22.0. That’s 1.4 on your dash.
Lap: 44/53 VER: 1’23.045
Lambiase Verstappen posts a new fastest lap with a 1’21.745
Okay, that’s strat ‘ten’, mode ‘eight’. Now give the tyres a rest. Strat ‘ten’, mode ‘eight’. Gap behind: 6.3. Ten laps remaining, including this one, Max.

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“Can the people in the background please be awake?”

With a new fastest lap of the race, Verstappen was 13 seconds adrift of Hamilton ahead of him. Of more pressing concern was Russell behind him, in what was likely to be a faster Mercedes, as Verstappen had to be careful not to take too much out of his mediums before the end of the race. That was the reason for his testy message, played on the world feed, reminding the team to stay sharp.

Lap: 45/53 VER: 1’23.363
Lambiase So gap behind, 6.2. Currently same pace as Russell. Just give that front-left a breather: [turns] six, seven, 11.
Lap: 46/53 VER: 1’22.941
Lambiase Strat ’11’. Strat ‘one-one’.
Lambiase Okay, so gap behind: 5.6. Russell pace: ‘22.7.
Verstappen Yes, I have to push!
Lap: 47/53 VER: 1’22.520
Lambiase Okay, Max, so that’s seven laps remaining. The gap is five seconds. Russell: ‘22.4.
Verstappen Can I get out of mode ‘eight’?
Lambiase Mode ‘seven’. Mode ‘seven’.
Verstappen Can the people in the background please be awake? I know this is a shit position, but it’s important.
Lap: 48/53 VER: 1’22.570
Lambiase Yes, copy that, Max. For info, pace is absolutely fine like this. Good job.

“This power is very slow”

Entering the final laps, Verstappen was managing to keep his tyres in a good condition and Russell at bay at the same time. But when Aston Martin decided to pit Lance Stroll towards the back of the field for new soft tyres, Red Bull became concerned that their fastest lap may be in jeopardy.

Lap: 50/53 VER: 1’22.585
Verstappen How many laps?
Lambiase Four laps to go. Four seconds behind. Just avoid any lock ups into big braking zones, Max.
Verstappen This power is very slow, no?
Lambiase It’s fast enough to get us to the end before Russell, Max. Three laps to go, 3.5 behind.
Lap: 52/53 VER: 1’22.920
Lambiase So Max, Stroll out-lap – new soft. Gap to him at the moment is 1.5. Manage that so he doesn’t DRS you down to turn one and then we can manage our pace on the final lap.
Verstappen Is he in the points?
Lambiase No he’s not. He’s now dropped behind Russell, so keep up the pace. Gap behind: three seconds. For info, Russell has grained his front-left, or started to open up, anyway. Three seconds behind.

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“Sorry we couldn’t give you a better car”

Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Red Bull, Monza, 2024
Verstappen came in two places ahead of team mate Perez

At the end of a difficult weekend where Red Bull lacked the pace of their rivals, Verstappen reached the chequered flag in sixth place, just 1.7 seconds ahead of Russell. He was almost 38 seconds behind winner Charles Leclerc and had dropped eight points to closest driver Norris in the championship, with the McLaren driver taking the fastest lap point away on the final lap of the race.

Lap: 53/53 VER: 1’23.711
Lambiase This will be final lap, Max.
Chequered flag
Lambiase Verstappen takes the chequered flag
Good job, Max. That was P6. Top three: Leclerc, Piastri, Norris.
Lambiase So fail ’84’.
Horner That was a good drive, Max. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you a better car this weekend, but a very good drive from you.
Verstappen Yeah, a tough race. I guess everything just went against us. I mean, not the power we wanted, not the pace, not the pit stops… But yeah. We have to work hard to change the car around.
Horner Yep. We will. We will.

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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43 comments on ““Can I have my PU performance back?” – Verstappen’s “tough” Monza race on his radio”

  1. I get that Max can be frustrated when he’s back in the pack fighting for 6th place, but if I were one of the team members back at the factory and heard him saying things like ‘Can the people in the background please be awake?’ I’d be absolutely furious. He’s implying that the dozens of unseen and uncelebrated engineers/strategists who make his championships possible are ‘asleep’ and contributing to his current predicament.

    What a stupid and demoralizing thing to say to your team over the radio, for all the world to hear.

    1. You are selling Max short… The team forgot to tell Max when he could change the setting back to full e-power after the period of nursing the Battery. The were not “on it” and they should have been… The PU engineers didn’t pass the message to Lambiase as soon as the battery was back to normal. Max shouldn’t have to ask, they should coach him actively.

    2. The “people in the back” forgot to tell him that he could go back to a faster engine mode. That’s what this was about

    3. He wasn’t getting the updates he needed to properly drive the car. That’s what he was hinting at. His insinuation that the team cared less for the lower positions might not be true, but he’s best positioned to recognize the change in how involved and sharp the folks trackside are.

      1. updates are just ‘codewords’ used to provide political cover for the manipulation that is going on behind closed doors. Oh this update, that update, its all garbage, the cars are systems, updates don’t in themselves have much of any real performance increase. Its all just word salad used to explain why certain plots are being driven. For instance, Newey leaving coincided exactly when RBR lost their tire performance/plot. The media serves only one function, and that is confuse, abuse and convince people of lies.

        1. Are you ok? You don’t make any sense…

        2. He donald is that you?
          Good luck with the elections, you will need it.

    4. You can’t take a driver in the heat of the moment seriously. Or any sportmen for that matter. The guys at the factory work with him day in, day out and know him better than that.

    5. Davethechicken
      3rd September 2024, 22:25

      You make a reasonable point. When you criticise the car, the strategy, the setup, the route of development, you are critisizing dozens of highly skilled individuals in the team who quite possibly don’t appreciate it.
      I am no Hamilton fan, but one thing I do admire is is awareness of the effort going on to give him a faster car and is always careful to show his appreciation.
      Criticise behind closed doors if one must. To do it in public and expect others to go the extra yard, especially when you always play the “great I am” card, seems a foolish strategy..

      1. Oh please, Hamilton is one of the worst in terms of de facto impugning the entire team when the car is bad. He and Toto as a combo have said some truly amazing things over the radio. Hamilton is in good company when it comes to champions and critical comments. So, this flaw is not at all unique to him.

        There’s a lot of things Max has said that I thought were unacceptable in terms of having consideration for all the people working to give him the best car they can, but this was not one of those. Even if they hadn’t forgotten to give him an important update, his statement was not particularly harsh and it is also a reminder that he wants their input, which is better than alternative.

        1. Davethechicken
          4th September 2024, 6:59

          Welll Nick T, contrast Hamilton and Veratappens response to Q3 in Monza. Hamilton said I could have done better acknowledged his error and didn’t blame anyone else.
          Verstappen screwed up parabolica when looking set for a front row in his first Q3 run, but rather than admit his mistake, which we all saw, (would be a first of course) immediately was on the radio blaming the car and by extension those who build design and set up the thing.

          1. So now you are going to use one example as the standard for Verstappen and with Hamilton you just ignore what argument just been said to you? Sounds like you’re trying to maintain your opinion without being honest about the facts that have been stated.

          2. Davethechicken
            4th September 2024, 15:11

            @billybob
            Do you have any examples of MV taking ownership of a mistake to counter the argument, where he said sorry guys I messed up?

      2. play the “great I am” card,

        A biblical quote Max referring to himself as God? I think not.

        1. Davethechicken
          4th September 2024, 6:37

          “it’s quite impressive how we let ourselves get undercut,” “It’s completely f—ed my race.”

          “You guys gave me this s— strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. F—.””

        2. Davethechicken
          4th September 2024, 10:04

          Like most idioms “the great I am” has a historical origin, in this case biblical. However when used in current day it does not imply someone is a god or diety but rather of a person who highly values their own self importance to the detriment or belittlement of those around.

      3. Sorry, but if one is famous for throwing the entire team under the bus it is Lewis. Know you history please.

      4. and is always careful to show his appreciation.

        You are joking..not?
        Lewis is one of the worst in this regard. Including renarks about sabotage…

  2. Without the fastest car Max is decidedly ordinary, isn’t he?

    1. Unfortunately F1 is one of the most fake sports on the planet

      1. Bernie sold out to a bunch of clowns named Liberty and Toto Wolff.

    2. No. There have been times over the past year where Red Bull did not have the fastest car or as big a car advantage as expected. Max made the difference. The car seems too far back for even him to do this now.

      1. Davethechicken
        3rd September 2024, 22:27

        Any examples?

        1. How about the races Norris and Mclaren should have won in Spain, Canada but Verstappen won? Now I know, you’re just going to ignore me and the facts because it doens’t fit your little narrative….

          1. Davethechicken
            4th September 2024, 15:22

            Hardly Max making the difference in those races Billybob, Norris lost due to the timing of the SC in Canada, and I would certainly not agree the Red bull was inferior to the McLaren in Spain.

          2. Oh, there are so many more. Where to start? 2017 Malaysia, 2017 US (16 to 4), 2016 Brasil (16 to 3), 2018 Austria, 2021 Imola, 2018 Mexico, 2016 Spain first victory, 2020 Silverstone, 2021 French GP, 2019 Austria, 2021 Mexico, 2020 Abu Dhabi, 2021 US just to get started with.

            I understand some people don’t like the person Max, which is fine. But denying where he sits in the current field or vs champs of the past just displays poor insight into this sport.

        2. Oh, there are so many more. Where to start? 2017 Malaysia, 2017 US (16 to 4), 2016 Brasil (16 to 3), 2018 Austria, 2021 Imola, 2018 Mexico, 2016 Spain first victory, 2020 Silverstone, 2021 French GP, 2019 Austria, 2021 Mexico, 2020 Abu Dhabi, 2021 US just to get started with.

          I understand some people don’t like the person Max, which is fine. But denying where he sits in the current field or vs champs of the past just displays poor insight into this sport.

          1. Davethechicken
            5th September 2024, 16:56

            If you read it again, the question was over the past year
            As your reply was a little condescending and tetchy I will point out that Spain 2020 is not an example of Max winning in inferior equipment.
            Max was second to DR until the team stopped Dan a second time and Dan also got a puncture. Solid drive by Max but only special for him being youngest driver. On the day he won only by others misfortune Mercs and his own teammate who was beating him in the same car.
            Perhaps check your “history”

    3. @flyinglapp Yep, overrated if you ask me

    4. I’d like to be able to say yes, but no. He isn’t even close to decidedly ordinary. However, what it does remind people of is that no matter how great a driver is, they can’t win by themselves. It seems obvious, but as has been the case with other drivers in the midst of a huge WDC streak, people begin to go overboard and say silly things like he’s untouchable, he’s in a league of his own, etc., etc. OTH, depending on how much Alonso and Lewis have lost due to age, he may be in a league of his own. Because I don’t think any of the other young superstars can beat Max without a solid advantage in car performance.

      1. Nick you have rather very short memory? 2021, ham had equal if not inferior car to max, and he not only matched but outperformed him despite huge car advantage. With only FIA shambles and intervention and a little help from his teammate he could beat ham to the wdc. Not too mention, max never accepts responsibility for mistakes or outright dangerous driving, or acknowledge team more than the team does for him! It s always car or team or other drivers to blame for everything everytime things don’t go his way. Does he have talent? If not he would be playing Mario art instead of f1. Has he been beaten by team mates, many times! Now his advantage with the car disappeared, not much faster than Sergio. I don’t think your superstar really applies. Ham everything max did and twice as much. Yet, in the super aero era, he won in a car designed for him or around him, makes him special? Really? Did he race against Alonso in the same machinery? Then we can have a reference to compare. Unless your reference is Segio, yeah he is exceptionally good against checo!

        1. I am not even going to read past your second sentence because literally all I said was:

          -Max, like every other great driver, can’t win by themselves. They need a car that is at least close to the best car. So, I know you’re not disagreeing with that..

          AND

          -and that Lewis and/or Alonso might be too old now to beat Max in even cars, but are still likely the next best drivers in F1. I didn’t even say that this IS the case. Only that it MIGHT be the case for. Since, I know Lewis is the only thing u care about, I said nothing about how good he was in the past, about how he did in the 2021 season vs Max, etc. So, literally nothing I said was a negative judgment on Lewis.

          So, yeah, maybe take some meds.

    5. I will always grant that Verstappen is good but he’s no where near this god driver people have desperately tried to make him out to be.

    6. No he really isn’t, you’re not paying attention, he still is leading he still is performing to the maximum. Whee as a certain 7time worldchampion is not even capable of winning form his teammate anymore…

      1. Flipflop, you have too much wishful thinking.

      2. Hamilton still winning races. Checks WDC… yep, still ahead of Mr Saturday.

    7. I was actually thinking exactly the opposite and appreciate where he gets it despite its flaws. It is quite impressive and it explains the huge dominance he can display when handed a good car.

  3. Coventry Climax
    4th September 2024, 16:59

    So glad this was all taken into account when he was awarded his 6 driver weekend performance points here, by the same writer, by the way.

    1. Hahaha, good point

  4. Steven Williamson
    11th September 2024, 5:19

    “PU performance” – code for asymmetrical braking system.

Comments are closed.