Verstappen missing 'complete picture' in tricky Italian GP practice

Max Verstappen feels he is missing "the complete picture" after a tricky Friday at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman finished top of the first session having set the fastest lap on Hard tyres as F1 teams battle with the reduced tyre allocation under Pirelli's sustainability trial, which dictates mandatory tyre usage in qualifying.

But championship-leader Verstappen's Q3 simulation on Soft tyres in FP2 was affected by heavy traffic on the exit of the Lesmos and on the run to the Ascari chicane, leaving him only the fifth-fastest in the standings and furious over team radio.

Verstappen's tricky day

Addressing his Friday of running, Verstappen explained: "We drove with different wing positions and we have to analyse what works best."

"That can be tricky at Monza, and I think I could have done a little better.

"I was still fine-tuning [the car] between the low and high-speed corners, but I am confident that it will be fine.

"It was hard to get a good look at everything in the second session, so we still have some work to do.

"During my fastest lap, I got held up a little bit in the second sector, and during the long run, I couldn't really do many laps, so I couldn't get a complete picture.

"But for the long runs, it was the same for everyone, and there are improvements in the pipeline."