{"id":1900,"date":"2026-09-08T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2026-09-08T09:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:14:07","slug":"verstappen-blasts-overtake-mode-at-monza-i-was-passed-like-a-turtle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-blasts-overtake-mode-at-monza-i-was-passed-like-a-turtle\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen blasts Overtake Mode at Monza: &#8220;I was passed like a turtle&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Max Verstappen said Red Bull could not match Mercedes-powered cars in energy deployment during the Italian GP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Dutchman explained that once rivals could stay within Overtake Mode range, defending became extremely difficult, even on fresh tyres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verstappen finished third at Monza for his fifth podium of the 2026 F1 season after briefly leading the race.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen briefly took the lead in the Italian GP, but ultimately had to settle for third on Sunday (September 6). The four-time world champion said Red Bull could not match the energy deployment of the two Mercedes cars and joked that he was passed &#8220;like a turtle&#8221; on Monza\u2019s straights. He also explained how the combination of Red Bull\u2019s deployment deficit and Overtake Mode made defending his position particularly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting fifth, Verstappen made a strong getaway and avoided trouble in the opening metres before quickly establishing himself as a contender for the podium. The #3 Red Bull even led for several laps, but did not have enough straight-line performance to hold off George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who went on to win and <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/antonelli-ignites-monza-and-wins-italian-gp-to-end-60-year-curse\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><strong>end a 60-year wait for an Italian home victory at Monza<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 2026 Formula 1 season, Overtake Mode has replaced DRS as part of the new energy-management system. At Monza, its effect was particularly significant because of the circuit\u2019s long straights and limited opportunities to recover energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen stressed that Red Bull could not match the energy deployment of the Mercedes-powered cars, leaving him vulnerable whenever rivals were able to remain within Overtake Mode range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It was quite clear during the race that we simply couldn&#8217;t keep up with the energy deployment of the Mercedes-powered cars. And obviously, that&#8217;s very difficult on a track like Monza. With Overtake Mode, it looked quite promising, but as soon as I got in the lead, it became very difficult to defend. That was a little bit my issue throughout the race,&#8221; Verstappen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutchman added that the problem remained even after Red Bull fitted fresh tyres following the virtual safety car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Even when we had the virtual safety car, we pitted, put on better tyres and I was making overtakes, but as soon as they can stay within the range to use Overtake Mode, it&#8217;s simply too powerful for us to defend, even on new tyres. That&#8217;s why it took me a little while to get past the two McLarens,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a><strong>The FIA has classified Red Bull&#8217;s combustion engine as the best on the grid<\/strong><\/a>, meaning the team cannot use the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system to update its power unit. The straight-line disadvantage was significant enough for Verstappen to describe being overtaken at Monza as being passed &#8220;like a turtle.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;To be honest, I didn&#8217;t really enjoy the race because people were simply driving by me like I was a turtle. But I got them back by going around the outside. The car has good brakes, which helps, so I had the confidence to attack the braking zones. I managed to do that twice at the beginning, at Turns 2 and 4. It&#8217;s enjoyable, but at the same time frustrating. But I try to make the most of everything I can,&#8221; the four-time champion said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite his frustration, Verstappen celebrated his fifth podium of the 2026 season, while acknowledging that Red Bull still has areas to address with the RB22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;To be on the podium after a very difficult weekend in Zandvoort, where the car wasn&#8217;t exactly to my liking, we managed to recover from Friday to Saturday and the car was definitely in a better place. But we still have a few points and areas that we know need to be improved, as well as, of course, the energy issue on the straights,&#8221; he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">F1 returns this weekend, September 11\u201313, for the <strong>Spanish GP<\/strong> at the new street circuit in <strong>Madrid<\/strong>. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will provide full coverage of Round 14 of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-1024x576.png\" alt=\"F1 2026, IT\u00c1LIA, CORRIDA, RED BULL, MAX VERSTAPPEN, CARRO\" class=\"wp-image-1020314195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/F1-2026-ITALIA-MONZA-RED-BULL-MAX-VERSTAPPEN-7.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Max Verstappen led the Italian GP but lost ground and finished third (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FAQ<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Overtake Mode in F1 2026?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overtake Mode is part of Formula 1\u2019s new 2026 energy-management system and provides additional electrical deployment to a following car when the required conditions are met. At Monza, Verstappen said its effect was particularly significant because Red Bull lacked the same level of energy deployment as its rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did Verstappen struggle against Mercedes-powered cars at Monza?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen said Red Bull could not match the energy deployment of Mercedes-powered cars on Monza&#8217;s long straights. That left him vulnerable whenever Russell or Antonelli could remain within Overtake Mode range, making it difficult to defend even with fresh tyres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is next for Max Verstappen?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen will return to action at the Spanish GP in Madrid from September 11\u201313, the 14th round of the 2026 F1 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Verstappen struggled to follow Mercedes-powered cars on Monza\u2019s straights and said Red Bull\u2019s lack of energy deployment made defending with Overtake Mode extremely difficult<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314276,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Max Verstappen","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Red Bull Content Pool","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[325,294,64,66],"42wp_author":[55],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-f1-2026","tag-italian-gp","tag-max-verstappen","tag-red-bull","42wp_author-caio-cavalcante"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1902,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions\/1902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}