Ecclestone believes in a Verstappen world title, but Max less and less

As Ecclestone walked through the paddock in Monza with his wife Fabiana on Saturday, GPblog asked him who he thinks will be the world champion in 2024? The billionaire stopped walking and pretended for a moment not to remember the name: "Ehhh, what's that guy's name again?", Ecclestone said teasingly. Only to shout, after a moment of silence, "Max Verstappen!"

Verstappen looks resigned in Monza

Full of confidence, Ecclestone appears confident about title prolongation by Red Bull Racing's Dutchman, who himself seems to radiate less by the week that he believes in a positive outcome to the season. Whereas Verstappen was especially bullish after previous setbacks this year, he seemed especially resigned after qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix - in which he will start from seventh position on Sunday. It was a side of Verstappen that he had not often shown. "I'm just doing my best, that's all I can do anyway," Verstappen said in chatting to the Dutch press.

And of course, Verstappen also wondered how things could go so horribly wrong in Q3? From one moment to the next, the speed was totally out of the RB20, thus resulting in that mediocre ranking. Starting points for this Sunday? "Well, we are generally too slow as well," was his conclusion. Short and sweet. Abandoned, then, perhaps because Verstappen had said many times that things needed to change course. But: "I think they are listening, but don't quite know what to do. That's the problem."

It is a hugely embarrassing observation from a star driver for a team of his own, which just a year ago was praised by friend and foe alike for its technical ingenuity, reflected in the seemingly unbeatable RB19. And now? Spot seven at Monza. "Of course, this is not the end of the world," Verstappen relativised.

Doubts over Red Bull Racing's choices

In the packed paddock - where half of famous Italy seemed to be walking around - Red Bull was still the talk of the day in the end - despite the final appointment of Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes' driver for '25. At the McLaren team, for example, it was heard that they did not understand at all that Red Bull had chosen not to bring a special rear wing for Monza.

Unaware of what was being whispered at McLaren, Verstappen himself said, "Of course, it doesn't help either that we don't have a Monza wing here. If you look at our rear wing, it has been trimmed quite a bit. That's not ideal for top speed. Well, we've never had that on our cars. But in the last few years, our car was good enough to compensate for that. But it might be something we need to do differently for next year."

Next year? First, let's get through this Sunday in Monza. Perhaps Verstappen can still surprise. Bernie Ecclestone probably wouldn't be surprised.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy