Marko: 'That's why we asked Max to slow down in closing stages'

Max Verstappen had to drastically reduce speed in the closing stages of the Italian GP race, instructed by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. The Dutchman was lucky to have a sizeable margin to P2. Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko explains the situation.

The race did not start well for the Red Bull camp, with problems aboard Yuki Tsunoda's AlphaTauri. The Japanese stalled just before the last corner on the warm-up lap and was unable to start the race. For Verstappen, worrying messages came over the board radio at the end of the race. Verstappen was instructed to reduce his speed considerably.

Marko tells the Italian branch of Motorsport.com that it was mainly to do with the high temperature. The team wanted for Verstappen to drive slower to avoid rising temperatures. The gap Verstappen had at that point was 12 seconds, so there was no reason for unnecessary risk.

Marko concludes: "On the other hand, it was also good that we let him drive slower. After all, Max was determined to accelerate and drive the fastest lap and we couldn't use that at that moment."