'We shouldn’t have been in that position' – Verstappen rues power problems that led to lap 1 crash

What a week it’s been for Max Verstappen: two races in Italy, two DNFs and zero points. And having been taken out on lap one of the Tuscan Grand Prix, the Dutchman was again left to rue a power unit issue, which had plunged him back into the midfield pack at the start…

Fresh from a power unit related retirement in Monza, Verstappen hinted at more issues over team radio even before the start in Mugello – and his fears were proved correct when the lights went out, as his initial lightning getaway from P3 quickly faded and he was engulfed by the field.

Heading into Turn 2 in the thick of the midfield pack, Verstappen was then taken out after being inadvertently caught up in the three-car collision that ended Pierre Gasly’s race.

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Having harboured hopes of pushing Mercedes all the way for victory in the race, Verstappen was understandably very unhappy when he stepped out of the car and explained what had happened.

“[The engine] was idling, and I had an anti-stall on the formation lap as well. Just idling, I don’t know what happened,” he said.

“I had a good launch so I went around Lewis [Hamilton] and I had a better launch than Valtteri [Bottas], but once I went flat out the engine just had a similar problem, I guess, to what we had in Monza - there was no power there.

“Then you get into this situation where you are in the middle of the pack and that is quite easy to get involved in a crash. I don’t even know what happened, I just got hit from behind. In the end, I am not disappointed by that; we shouldn’t have been in that position. Just really disappointing again we have a retirement.”

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Now a distant third in the championship, having headed to Monza second behind Hamilton, Verstappen couldn’t bring himself to think of what could have been in Mugello.

“Could have, should have, would have - I don’t really care,” he remarked. “It is what it is, I am really not happy at the moment but, can’t change it.”