THE PERFECT PACKAGE AGAINST McLAREN’S LIMITS

Every time, it’s worth clarifying right away: I consider Verstappen one of the best drivers Formula 1 has ever seen. It’s important to stress this, because otherwise any observation risks sounding like out-of-place criticism. That said, some things feel “normal” to me—even if they would be considered extraordinary for others.

At Monza, it wasn’t a case of an inferior car winning thanks to a phenomenon behind the wheel. The victory belonged to the strongest package: Verstappen and Red Bull. Sure, with another driver the outcome would hardly have been the same—at least not with that level of dominance—but this wasn’t some miraculous episode. It was fairly predictable. For a while now, it’s been clear that Monza would be McLaren’s toughest track: the MCL39 is excellent in almost every area, but it still suffers in terms of aerodynamic efficiency. On most circuits that flaw can be masked; in Monza, it cannot. To make matters worse, tire degradation is minimal at the Temple of Speed, stripping McLaren of one of its strongest weapons.

Under these conditions, with a Red Bull that historically performs well at medium-low downforce, the script was nearly written. We’d already seen hints of it at Silverstone and Spa. Here, with virtually no tire wear, Verstappen was able to make the difference with ease, as shown by the way he reeled in, passed, and pulled away from Norris.

Monza is a peculiar track: if you nail the setup, you can gain a tenth per lap that’s worth three or four tenths elsewhere. Red Bull found the perfect compromise, starting from a Spa-like base and then trimming the car further. Not everyone managed that—just look at the comparison with Tsunoda.

Even pole position sent a clear signal: you don’t get it without slipstreams and without others’ mistakes unless the car is genuinely fast. And the RB20 was fast—Verstappen simply maximized it in the way only he can. Already at Silverstone he had impressed by staying competitive in corners with a very low-downforce setup; Monza was just a confirmation. Ferrari, on the other hand, struggled to find the right balance between straight-line speed and cornering efficiency.

So why all the surprise over this win? Often, it’s because people assume McLaren has a massive edge over the rest of the field. And when Max puts twenty seconds on Norris, it looks like he’s pulled off an unrepeatable feat. In reality, the final gap was the product of track characteristics and setup choices—not just a stroke of genius. This doesn’t take anything away from the greatness of his weekend, but let’s avoid falling into the trap of overblown rhetoric.

The real question should be another one: how is it that Ferrari, with a clean race and no setbacks, still finished 25 seconds behind? It’s a question few seem willing to ask, preferring instead to keep treating Leclerc as capable of miracles and Norris as just the lucky driver of a superior car.

Lastly, a note on the Italian fans: passionate, warm, but also contradictory. Boos for Norris, chants against Max, and in the same weekend, standing ovations for Hamilton. A backdrop that by now has become an integral part of the Italian Grand Prix—for better or worse.

© Simone Marchetti Cavalieri

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