Red Bull staff did ‘a lot of swearing’ during crucial Monza moment before Max Verstappen’s win

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Red Bull Racing returned to winning ways with Max Verstappen at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen set the fastest lap in history to take pole position at Monza, breaking Lewis Hamilton’s Italian Grand Prix record from 2020.

The four-time champion then broke the record for the fastest race in Formula 1 history, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of McLaren rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull have struggled over the past 18 months, and the constructors’ championship highlights how far behind McLaren they’ve fallen, and the difficulties Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have had on the other side of the garage.

Verstappen has enjoyed working alongside Laurent Mekies, who took over from Christian Horner as team principal after the British Grand Prix.

Since then, the 27-year-old has won a Sprint Race in Spa, struggled in Hungary and dominated at Monza.

The Dutchman has committed his future to Red Bull for 2026 amid interest from plenty of rival teams.

But, there was one moment at Monza that created a seriously tense environment in the Red Bull garage before he took the chequered flag.

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Red Bull staff were ‘swearing’ when Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman crashed at Monza

Matt Caller, Verstappen’s number one mechanic, was speaking on The Inside Track podcast about the Dutchman’s win in Monza at the previous race.

Speaking about the race, Caller explained: “I think we had some pace in hand that we hadn’t seen for a while.

“So, when we came back past Lando, then it was kind of like, game on here.

“It was like years gone by, where once we got anywhere near the sharp end, it was like, I think it’s just game over.

“Max drove absolutely faultlessly. The laps he was pumping out it was just perfect every single time, not a foot wrong, looking after the tyres.

“I think the only thing that could have undone this really was a safety car, which nearly happened.”

Caller was then asked about the collision between Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz, which took place after Verstappen pitted, with both McLaren drivers now ahead of him.

He continued: “There was a lot of swearing going on in the garage!

“We thought, here we go, this is the only thing that can undo a perfect weekend, really.

“And obviously, McLaren were always going to go that way because they didn’t have the pace advantage that they enjoyed most of the season. They had to hang on, and it nearly panned out for them.

“We were quite glad to see those cars get back going again. And then from then on, it was just plain sailing.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

What is Max Verstappen’s record like at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Verstappen’s victory at Monza has closed the gap to the drivers’ championship leader Piastri to 94 points.

It would be by far the biggest comeback in Formula 1 history if Verstappen managed to win a fifth consecutive title, and would require both McLaren drivers to DNF on multiple occasions.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix hasn’t been Verstappen’s strongest track during his F1 career.

Verstappen has never taken a pole position on the streets of Baku and has only won once during the 2022 campaign.

Sergio Perez, his old Red Bull teammate, has scored more points than any other driver at the track, and even during the team’s almost perfect 2023 season, it was the Mexican who won the race that year.

The 27-year-old has retired three times from the race, and Verstappen’s crash with Daniel Ricciardo was one of the lowest points in his career.

McLaren and Ferrari will back themselves to be quicker than Red Bull this weekend, but Verstappen has proven time and again that he can’t be ruled out of any race.