Watch: Max Verstappen punches his steering wheel after a 6.2 seconds pitstop at the F1 Italian GP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was seen punching the steering wheel after a slow pitstop at the Italian GP on Sunday ruined his chances of a podium position. The three-time world champion started the race at Monza from P7 after a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday.

Verstappen managed to stay out of trouble in the opening laps of the race. He opted for an alternative strategy to put on the hard tires to go longer than the cars ahead of him.

However, the gamble did not pay off. The Dutchman had to pit earlier than projected due to higher degradation on the track and a 6.2-second stop from the team compounded his misery.

In the video floating on social media, Verstappen seemed frustrated with the slow pitstop and could be seen punching his steering wheel while driving out of the pitlane as he eventually joined behind Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking with F1.com, Verstappen claimed that he wasn't 'frustrated' about the situation as he was focused on his race but pointed out that the slow stop wasn't helpful either. He said:

"To be honest I wasn’t really frustrated throughout the race, I was just doing my own race. The pace was not there, we had a bad pit stop, I think our strategy was not on point today even though it wouldn’t have changed our position. I think we could have done a better race in general."

“It doesn’t help that you can’t run full power for most of the race with the engine because we had an issue. So yeah, all in all a pretty bad race. [The engine issue] is really bad at the moment and, before Baku, we have a lot of work to do to basically change the whole car,” Verstappen added.

Speaking to the media, after the race, the Red Bull driver said that major changes are required in the car for the team to perform better in the remaining season.

Max Verstappen provides ominous signs about the rest of the 2024 season

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that it would be difficult for the team to compete if they didn't change anything on the car in the upcoming races.

As per formula1.com, the 26-year-old said:

“If we don’t change anything on the car, it’s all going to be bad from now onwards to the end of the season, so we have a lot of work to do. It would still have been a bad race [without the engine issues], but at least maybe you are a bit more competitive."

"We were in no man’s land basically doing our own race. It’s part of racing, unfortunately. It’s not what I want but we know that this exists as well. We are pushing hard now,” he added.

Verstappen added eight points to tally in the Italian GP and moved to a total of 303 but lost eight points to his title rival Lando Norris in the championship as the McLaren driver scored 16 points and finished in P3.