Why Red Bull did not allow Verstappen to do another flying lap

It was not the most ideal Friday of the season for Red Bull Racing. The first free practice session still saw the fastest time go the way of Max Verstappen, but during FP2, Verstappen could only finish P5, and on top of that, Sergio Perez crashed in the closing stages, finishing in P3. Helmut Marko knows there is still some work to be done.

"We experimented a bit with the level of downforce. With the long runs, we ruined the balance with our new attempt," said Marko, who does not find Perez guilty of the crash, blaming the crash simply on an imbalance. "The car suffered a lot of oversteer, which is why Checo slid into the gravel. The car was difficult to drive and not in the right balance."

Verstappen got no further than a fifth time as he was hampered on his fast lap by some slow cars in front of him. Marko explained to Motorsport-Magazin why Max's request to add another fast lap was rejected. "We knew what the problem was [the traffic]. Then the long runs were more important."

Because of the long straights at Monza, it can pay off if two teammates help each other slipstream. At Red Bull, there were no practice runs along the straight in the run-up to qualifying, and judging by Marko's words, it doesn't look like it will happen again.

"It's not worth the risk in relation to the time gained. The optimum slipstream gives you two or, at most, three-tenths, but the chances of taking advantage of it are maybe 20 to 30 per cent. The chance that you get nothing out of it is 70 to 80 per cent." Marko goes on to say that it may be that by chance, in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, it works out so that a slipstream can be given anyway, but in any case, the whole tactic is not geared to it.