Max Verstappen finished the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in third place but left the circuit deeply unhappy with the performance of his RB22.
The four-time world champion was unable to match the pace of Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who took first and second respectively.
Verstappen was candid in his post-race assessment, comparing the speed of his Red Bull car to that of a turtle as he expressed his frustration publicly.
It has been a difficult period for Red Bull, who are clearly struggling to match the outright pace of a dominant Mercedes outfit this season.
Adding to their troubles, Red Bull have confirmed that Isack Hadjar will miss the Spanish Grand Prix after failing to recover from a hairline wrist fracture sustained during the summer break.
The injury has now kept Hadjar out of three consecutive grands prix, with Liam Lawson stepping in to cover his seat once again for the Madrid debut event at the Madring.
Lawson finished seventh at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix before a difficult weekend in Monza resulted in a P14 finish, leaving the New Zealander with plenty to prove in Spain.
Meanwhile, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg has offered his view on the Ferrari situation, claiming the Italian team simply cannot prioritise Lewis Hamilton over Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship battle.
Hamilton’s hopes of securing a record eighth world title are fading, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli continuing to pull clear while internal Ferrari tensions have flared at both the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.
Elsewhere, Aston Martin are generating cautious optimism after a disastrous start to the 2026 season, with one F1 legend suggesting the Adrian Newey-led outfit will “shock the world” and warning rivals that “oh my God they’re coming.”
Newey had been expected to transform Aston Martin after his blockbuster departure from Red Bull, but early struggles with the Honda power unit and chassis performance dampened expectations before a turnaround began at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
Finally, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was spotted in the Red Bull garage during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, fuelling reports that the Raikkonen name could soon be associated with an F1 team once again.