Verstappen complains frustratingly to Red Bull: 'This is so bad!

Verstappen had to watch from the sidelines during first practice as Red Bull handed his RB22 to Ayumu Iwasa, making the second practice session the first real opportunity of the weekend for the four-time world champion to put in laps at the Italian circuit.

It quickly became clear that Verstappen was unhappy with the car’s behavior. The amount of grip the RB22 provided in particular led to frustration. "This is really bad. I have no downforce on the car at all," he reported to engineer Tom Hart — who is replacing Gianpiero Lambiase this weekend.

The few adjustments made during second practice didn’t seem to give him sufficient stability. "The car also has no grip in Turns 1, 2, 4 and 5. It’s like I’m driving on ice," said Verstappen. "And the brakes don’t work either. It’s all much worse with a lot of fuel on board," he continued. "The car is bouncing incredibly and now the right side is taking the hit," he added — after running over the kerbs.

"The tyre degradation also feels very inconsistent. It’s super confusing," the pit wall was told as well. That was reflected in the inconsistent runs of the four-time world champion, while Liam Lawson on the other side of the garage was put to work with two intensive long runs. In those, the New Zealander was faster than Verstappen. Red Bull still needs to make a considerable step to salvage this weekend.