Ferrari struggles with suspension setup at Monza in search of balance and drivability | F1 Italian GP. Max Verstappen takes pole at Monza thanks to Red Bull’s late upgrades.

Red Bull upgrades push Verstappen forward: Ferrari at the limit of its potential

In one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season, Max Verstappen stamped his authority by taking pole position at Monza. It was no coincidence, but rather another demonstration of strength from the reigning world champion, who benefitted from last-minute tweaks and upgrades introduced by Red Bull. The Dutchman will start ahead of the McLaren MCL39 cars, which were limited by the long straights of the Temple of Speed, but still strong enough to beat a Ferrari that looked underwhelming in performance.

Red Bull’s upgrades make the difference

The figures themselves highlight the extreme level of competitiveness at Monza, producing one of the most exciting qualifying sessions of the year. In Q1, all 20 drivers were covered by just eight tenths of a second, with 16 of them within half a second. In Q2, the top ten were separated by only three tenths, and the final gap between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris was a mere 77 thousandths of a second. The Monza circuit exaggerates the characteristics of modern Formula 1, where even the smallest details can decide the outcome.

This is where Red Bull’s new floor, introduced in Italy, proved crucial. Although the modifications were relatively modest, the upgrade made a big contribution to Verstappen’s pole position, which was decided by just a handful of thousandths. Even more significant was the availability of a low-drag rear wing for the RB21, which had been missing in the difficult 2024 edition. On Friday night, the team even went as far as trimming the DRS flap, desperately searching for extra kilometres per hour down Monza’s long straights.

These changes were not only aimed at aerodynamic efficiency but also at satisfying Max Verstappen’s preference for a very sharp and reactive front end, something that would be almost uncontrollable for other drivers. This particular setup also played its part in the 77 thousandths that gave Verstappen pole, as he produced another one of his trademark laps for the Monza crowd. With strong race pace shown in Friday simulations and a clear speed advantage on the straights compared to McLaren, the world champion has every reason to believe in victory on Sunday.

McLaren and the reasons for vulnerability

At Monza, Red Bull exploited one of the key strengths of the RB21: the ability to maintain aerodynamic efficiency even in a low-downforce configuration, with an excellent balance between cornering grip and straight-line speed. The situation was very different for McLaren, which could not replicate the dominance shown in Zandvoort and Budapest. “By the way the car is designed, our maximum efficiency comes with a higher downforce rear wing,” explained team principal Andrea Stella. “It is similar to what happened last year when we ran a lower wing. Compared to the competition, our car loses some efficiency.”

The MCL39 could not fully exploit its strength in corners at Monza, where long straights and high-grip asphalt minimise the areas where cornering downforce makes a difference. Record times in the middle sector were not enough to compensate for the deficit on the straights, made worse by the absence of medium-speed corners, usually one of McLaren’s strong points. “The fact that grip is very high here and the layout is the opposite of Zandvoort and Budapest explains quite well why we have not enjoyed the same advantage,” added Andrea Stella.

In the race, McLaren might try to use its two cars to play the strategy game, although the team is limited by its desire not to compromise one of its two title contenders. The forced absence from the first free practice session ended up hurting Oscar Piastri, who qualified third behind Norris. The Australian was also thankful for the slipstream provided by his teammate to escape elimination in the tense final stages of Q2. On Sunday, however, there is unlikely to be room for such favours.

Ferrari at the limit

For Ferrari, the weekend began with promising signs but did not progress as hoped. The team bet heavily on a low-downforce setup, to the extent that during the final practice session Lewis Hamilton asked for a slight increase in downforce to reduce the gap in the middle sector, where Charles Leclerc was already losing more than two tenths to Oscar Piastri’s record. The main difficulties for Ferrari also came from the mechanical setup of the suspension, as they searched for the right balance and driveability. They eventually had to step back from an overly aggressive direction taken on Friday afternoon, as admitted by team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

Even on Saturday, the cameras captured Ferrari drivers wrestling with a nervous SF-25, which probably prevented them from improving on their second attempts in Q3. Overall, the car looked capped at its technical limits in Monza, simply lacking the pace to fight for pole. That awareness perhaps should have pushed the team to attempt a more aggressive use of slipstreaming. For Charles Leclerc, it will now be much harder to replicate his charge from fourth place last year, especially given that the new 2025 Pirelli tyres and the aged track surface will reduce graining and degradation, likely flattening strategies into a single stop. On the positive side, Lewis Hamilton once again finished close to his teammate, confirming progress in his adaptation to the SF-25.