Red Bull’s Rossignol‑sos K2‑stringb steered the RB22 into a balance crisis during Monza’s practice, leaving the team with more questions than answers.
Balance woes at Monza
After a 4‑time champion left the cockpit, the 24‑year‑old Japanese rookie, Ayumu Iwasa, hit the same wobbly rhythm, complaining about a rear‑downforce deficit that made high‑speed corners feel disconnected.
Verstappen’s radio bleeds revealed a brake‑use problem and a persistent bounce that growers blamed on FA‑upgrades, which show only modest tweaks to the front wing and front extension.
In free‑practice 1 (FP1) vibrations surfaced, forcing the crew to search for a solution before the crunch of FP2 and FP3 could settle in.
Set‑up changes hit performance
Technical director Pierre Wache said the issue “is a balance problem” and that the upgrades listed in the FIA doc are only “the tip of the iceberg.”
Wache added that component adjustments might help, but at the moment “we have to choose between pieces we’ve had for several races.”
Practising had not provided the usual data volume, because Verstappen was absent from FP1, so the team had limited feedback over the weekend.
Energy management in question
IWasa flagged energy‑management hiccups early in FP1, confusing the tyres and tyre‑temperatures at Monza’s long straights.
The driver said that “if we hadn’t seen it in FP1, it would have popped up later on,” showing that battery output was also uneven.
Wache brushed off the energy issues as “normal” for a weekend, but acknowledged that “the main concern is balance” for the race day.
Technical director’s assessment
Wache admitted he feels no confidence in a fix before the race, saying “we’re never confident, otherwise you will never achieve anything.”
He promised that the team is working hard to “turn the weekend around” in the little time that remains.
So the 2024 Italian Grand Prix will test whether the RB22 can finally smooth its inconsistent balance and reclaim Red Bull’s winning heritage at Monza’s high‑speed temple.
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