Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team’s dominance at the Italian Grand Prix has been attributed to a change in car setup strategy, led by the new boss, Laurent Mekies. Verstappen, who secured pole position, won at Monza with an impressive lead, surpassing the McLarens by almost 20 seconds, the largest difference of the season. This victory marked Red Bull’s first without Christian Horner at the helm, who was replaced by Mekies at the end of July. The result, along with Verstappen’s podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, showed a significant improvement in performance after the summer break.
Verstappen has highlighted in recent months the instability of the Red Bull car, which previously shone in 2022 and 2023. The four-time world champion noted that the team is approaching each weekend with greater clarity to maximize performance. Verstappen explained that extreme changes were previously made to the setup, indicating a lack of control and understanding. With Mekies, who has experience in engineering, key questions are posed to the engineers, which has resulted in a more effective approach. The driver also mentioned that, based on what has been tested, a clear direction has been identified for the development of the car, which was reflected in improvements at Zandvoort and Monza. Although fundamental changes to Formula 1 cars are not immediate, and updates require development time, the new Red Bull parts were already in process under Horner’s direction.So far we’ve had many races where we’ve been trying things left and right with the car setup.
Max Verstappen
