Max Verstappen has arrived at Monza mentally prepared for one of the most challenging weekends of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with energy management dominating driver conversations during media day.
The Italian Grand Prix circuit has long been flagged by Verstappen as a prime example of where the current regulations fall short, and this weekend promises to expose those weaknesses fully.
Top speeds at the iconic Temple of Speed are expected to be considerably lower than in previous years, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri revealing simulations suggested speeds even lower than those seen in Hungary.
A harvesting limit of just five megajoules has been set for the Monza weekend, a measure designed to limit super clipping but one that results in significant regular clipping instead.
Drivers will find themselves running out of MGU-K power early on the straights, a scenario Verstappen actually predicted back in 2023 when he first raised concerns about these very regulations.
The four-time world champion has made clear, however, that he no longer wishes to be a constant critic, having accepted that neither Red Bull’s season nor the wider Formula 1 situation can be salvaged quickly.
“It’s going to be pretty painful,” said Verstappen. “This track is just very energy inefficient, but I also don’t want to be too negative about it all.”
“It is what it is. I have accepted it mentally. I prepared for a weekend where it will be a bit different. You cannot push flat out and you have to be gentle with the throttle pedal, let’s call it like that.”
Verstappen acknowledged that the FIA and Formula 1 are working to ease the difficulties, but stressed the fundamental problems cannot be resolved in the short term.
“Changes are being made to try and make it better, but better doesn’t mean that it’s fixed. It’s far from fixed,” he said. “But, I mean, everyone is trying to do the best they can, the FIA and F1, they are all trying to deal with the current situation.”
In theory, Monza could suit Red Bull marginally better than Zandvoort, where Laurent Mekies’ team was clearly the fourth force throughout the entire weekend.
With MGU-K power limited across large parts of the circuit, the internal combustion engine takes on greater importance, and Red Bull’s unit has shown strong results according to the FIA’s ADUO data.
Despite that potential advantage, Verstappen remained cautious about expecting any significant improvement in Red Bull’s overall competitive standing this weekend.
“I think on the inefficient tracks, we’ve not been particularly great with energy, so I don’t expect miracles here. It will still be tough,” he said.
“Other teams around us are bringing upgrades at the moment, so they are making steps forward. We were already behind before that, so I don’t expect that to change now. But we just try to learn more about the car and the things that we want to do different for next year as well.”
On a personal level, Verstappen does at least head into the Italian Grand Prix in better health after suffering from the flu during his home race at Zandvoort.
“I was very ill. And actually, once you’re fully healed, you appreciate again how good it is to feel like that. Because the whole weekend in Zandvoort was awful and even after Zandvoort for a few days, I was still not good.”
“So it was actually really nice to have that week to recover and feel better again. Because it’s been a very long time that I felt like that.”