Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Monza, 2020

Verstappen rues a “beep-it-away day” after engine overheating causes retirement

2020 Italian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen said he had a frustrating race prior to his retirement due to an engine problem on his Red Bull.

Having started fifth, Verstappen had fallen to 11th by the mid-race restart. He then lost further places due to an engine problem, which forced him out soon afterwards.

“It was a pretty ‘beep-it-away’ day,” said Verstappen. “First we had a very bad start. When I dropped the clutch there was a lot of wheelspin because the engine was hot, somehow. Then from there onwards we got stuck in the DRS train so you can’t pass.

“After the red flag in the start already when I accelerated I had a problem with the engine. So we tried to solve it but it didn’t go away and we had to retire the car.”

However Verstappen said he was pleased to see a breakthrough win for his former team mate Pierre Gasly and former team AlphaTauri, who Verstappen drove for when they were called Toro Rosso.

“I’m of course very happy for Pierre,” he said. “The whole weekend they were very, very fast.

“To win the race here is, I think, very emotional and a great result for them. It’s a great group of people and I hope they’re going to enjoy this one tonight because they deserve it.

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Verstappen’s radio messages after restart

Lap 28VerstappenThree cars pass Verstappen at the restart.
The fucking engine is hot, mate. What a joke.
28To VerstappenMode six.
28VerstappenIt’s still hot. I mean, what do you want me to do?
29To VerstappenNothing for the moment.
29VerstappenAnother car passes
Mate, what can I do?
29To VerstappenStand by Max, I’ll get back to you.
29VerstappenIt’s not working. It’s fucked.
29To VerstappenEngine 13 position nine please Max.
29To VerstappenEngine one position seven.
30VerstappenFuck.
30VerstappenIt’s still broken.
30To VerstappenStand by, Max.
30To VerstappenI’ll have an answer for you in a minute. Max.
30To VerstappenBox, pit confirm please Max, Box.
30VerstappenI’m in.
30To VerstappenStop on the marks and switch off please.
30VerstappenFucking joke, this.

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33 comments on “Verstappen rues a “beep-it-away day” after engine overheating causes retirement”

  1. Going to love it when Stroll gets a championship before him.

    1. You can glee because obviously you are not a Max fan but that will never happen. Max will bounce back from this. Not this year or next year because Merc is unbeatable until 2022 (until the rule changes get into effect). Stroll was weaker then Massa and is a weaker driver then Perez and will be a weaker driver the Russell might he be a Merc driver if Hamilton retires so no he will not be a WDC stroll!

      1. Bounce back from engine overheating? He’s going to blow cold air from his lungs into the PU I suppose?

        Isn’t he the mad fans’ champion this year already? Doesn’t even know how to operate a machine within its capacity. 😃😃😃

    2. Can you IMAGINE the flack Lewis would get for an out burst like this!!?? I mean I get it, I understand these guys are talking in the heat of the moment and are winners but for the sake of equality… Max behaves like an entitled stroppy child. 😀

      1. Lewis indeed has the ability to say the most nasty things in a very polite way….

        He was boo-ed at in Canada last year, when Vettel cut a corner it was Lewis who was on the radio right away…
        after the race he said ‘I didn’t ask for the penalty’, ehm, yes you did actually
        Mexico 2019, Lewis was quite vocal about safety when Verstappen set pole under yellow, Lewis didn’t brake himself either, in the post race interview things got really ugly and he apologized to Max the race after when things boiled up when Lewis ruined Max quali lap.
        Than on to Austria…Lewis ignores yellow and instead of preaching about safety, he simply ignores… RBR confronts the FIA with very clear video’s of flashing yellow lights only a blind man couldn’t see
        Last race he went up to the stewards to protest his penalty… though Mercedes already knew they where wrong.
        Advising RB to replace Gasly with Albon in 2019 and on the fly mentioned RB didn;t treat Gasly very fair after his recent win.

        Lewis has a hidden agenda, he’s the master of mindgames, he says nasty things in a nice way

  2. That Red Bull looked terrible, in either Verstappen or Albon’s hands today. Even so reading these messages he’s saying over the radio, he’s got one unpleasant temper. No denying he’s supremely talented but got to wonder if he’s responsible for some of the atmosphere that seems to drag Red Bull down, and why no other driver sat next to him seems to find anything but pressure.

    1. He is a Verstappen. His father Jos is almost more famous in the NL for his temper and fights than his race career (Jos hit his father Frans during an argument, and has been in the media for multiple fights since 1997).

      You could have also overheard Jos talking to Max and his manager in the past years during an F1 weekend saying: “Just bash them off the track” in Dutch.

      Yes, Max is not his father, but he has practically spent every waking moment of his childhood with him, some of it is bound to rub off.

      1. Given that Max has tried to pick a fist fight with another driver in the very recent past, you sure he’s not his father?

        1. That is a gross exaggeration of the fact, he pushed Ocon, he didn’t punch him.

          1. You should read in …every story has two sides and Jos’ side is not often published… yes he’s a hot head, but in all situation he was very much provoked, even the event with his dad who was a hot head and not a very popular guy in the family.
            Jos actually was never convicted and received a large settlement from the dutch state for being falsly accused.

            Jos gave Max some good lessons, but like often, the real champions do have temperament…

    2. @rocketpanda

      Even so reading these messages he’s saying over the radio, he’s got one unpleasant temper.

      A honda engine in the back of your car will do that to you.

    3. @rocketpanda Yes Verstappen completely dropped the ball on setting that car up.

      @todfod Gasly won the race with that engine …

      1. @f1osaurus

        Gasly won the red flag lottery on pure merit all the Honda engines were behind 2 Mercedes powered cars and 2 Renault powered cars.

        1. @todfod If by “pure merit” you mean “a lucky pit stop” then sure.

          1. @f1osaurus

            Sorry.. My punctuation failed me. Gasly won the red flag lottery. On pure merit, the Honda powered cars were trailing w Mercedes powered cars and 2 Renault powered cars on Sunday

          2. @todfod Ah ok. Clear. Still, the power deficit wasn’t that bad that he was easily overtaken.

            Besides, it was clear that Red Bull completely dropped the ball again with their base setup. Just like in Hungary when they were suddenly a second down. Then also they had no idea why they were so bad and were unable to produce a working setup.

            Red Bull were doing fine in Spa and last year Verstappen at Monza also set close to the fastest time in FP3 and even Albon was only 5 tenths down on pole in 2019.

            They are just throwing Honda under the bus to hide their own failure.

            To be honest, Verstappen destroying that power unit by keeping it overheating due to driving too close behind the car in front also seems to fall in that category.

            Bottas the same. “I cannot drive with this engine mode” while trudging along too close behind the car in front all race, well then deal with it. Hamilton did manage.

  3. Where’s Horner under a rock with the other snakes been unusually quiet after the race. Maybe that engine mode thing effected them more seem to remember a comment about the Merc blowing up…..karma

    1. He is busy spinning that Albon finishing last wasn’t a bad thing (yes, Gio finished last, but he was penalized).

  4. Reading them comments what’s all these engine mode changes I thought one did qualifying and race hope they’re no breaking any rules 🤔

    1. From what I understand, they are allowed to change down engine modes for safety/reliability reasons, but they MUST immediately inform the stewards of what mode they have changed to and why and they can be penilized if the explanation is unacceptable or the mode breaks the rule.

      1. I have to ask what is then stopping them all starting in a high mode, and then lowering the mode after the pit stops. I assume they have to back up their call with data, and also demonstrate they could have finished the race in the original mode if it were not for a specific and unexpected problem. I also assume they can’t turn it back up again. Maybe they get a little bit of leeway this weekend, but if the argument is that they get hot when driving close to another car, then they have to set the car up better or manage the issue with their right foot.
        Anyone have more details?

  5. Yet another grey area which will inevitably be abused at some point as teams recognise this and suddenly develope a fault which needs an engine mode change.

  6. To give Verstappen the benefit of the doubt he could just be frustrated at Horners failed tactics of trying to knobble the Mercs. It looks like the changes made have effected the RB/Honda more and they may now be stuck with it till 2022. For sure the atmosphere in the RB garage must be getting a little tense now between the Verstappens and RB management.

  7. Is 2020 “champion” Max going to demote himself to the junior team after how easily Gasly won the race without actually doing any racing.

    alpha Tauri is the place to be right now.

    1. people thought the same for Toro Rosso in 2008 when Vettel won in Monza. I think a look at the constructor standings both then & now is enough of an answer.

  8. I’m sure Honda appreciates all the kind words from Max.

    1. @phillyspur

      After all these years… I’m sure they’ve gotten used to it.

  9. Determination and arrogance are easily mixed here by the fans. But everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. Me personally, I see talent being wasted by pour material. RB Honda needs to step up their game. This is not the minor league. They’ve been performing under par for years now. If they don’t fix it, they will soon take the next step back by losing their star driver.

    1. Where is he going to go?
      Don’t see any seats in Mercedes any time soon.
      Would you want to employ that sort of language and anger?

    2. How much of the poor performance of the team reflects on Verstappen though? Why can’t they find a working setup. Again! In Hungary the same happened. Why can’t Verstappen help the team out of those situations?

      Why does Mercedes keep steadily improving based on their driver feedback while Red Bull just seems to go forwards and backwards.

      That whole rant of how he doesn’t care about the race when he doesn’t have the fastest car. How is that not arrogant entitlement? He just wants to show up at the track and have the fastest car.

      Instead of offering the team some fighting words and work with them to improve the car (like Hamilton does), instead he throws his team under the bus and ridicules the engine.

  10. There are so many useless infographics on screen… they should have included a very inportant one long time ago.

    Just like tyres currently on the car or the slected gear, it would be supergreat to see when enging strat teams are running

  11. Are his radio messages not some of the best?

    He is a beast. His time will come.

  12. It’s easier to blame the power unit when in fact it was a setup fail just like they had in Hungary that ruined their weekend.

    Both drivers then start banging into other cars from the start of the race to make matters worse.

    Bottas also had issues with on overheating engine from driving in traffic. Instead of keeping on doing that they both could also have taken a bit of a distance and cool things off. Just like Bottas just kept overheating his engine in Brazil and then … low and behold … the engine broke.

    Or maybe they could actually overtake the cars in front like Hamilton did.

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