Verstappen saw it coming: 'I really don't understand why people think that'

Max Verstappen retired with an engine problem during the Italian Grand Prix. Where several people still had hoped for 'Party Mode', Verstappen actually knew a long time ago that the ban on that qualifying mode would not work miracles.

During qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix Verstappen had to settle for a fifth place. Despite the ban on qualifying mode, it was again a 1-2 for Mercedes at a great distance from the competition. No surprise, according to Verstappen, although Helmut Marko had said that Red Bull would compete for pole after the ban on qualifying mode.

''The engine and the car just aren't good enough. I find it difficult to say anything about the ban on that qualification mode. Monza is already a separate circuit in that respect and we just didn't have a good balance in the car and are therefore short on the straight'', says Verstappen in an online press session from Red Bull.

However, Verstappen never understood all that positive noise surrounding the ban on qualifying mode. ''I didn't expect Mercedes to suddenly lose two or three tenths now. Some people think that Mercedes will suddenly lose a lot, but I really don't understand that'', concludes the Dutchman.