RB20 breakthrough discovered as McLaren conduct ‘papaya rules’ analysis – round-up

Max Verstappen struggled to make headway during the Italian Grand Prix.

The post-Italy F1 news round-up is here, and do we have a lot to get through for you in the aftermath of Monza.

Charles Leclerc took a brilliant victory for Ferrari in front of the tifosi on Sunday, but with additional reporting by Thomas Maher and Sam Cooper throughout, here are the key headlines to emerge from the aftermath of an enthralling race.

F1 news: Max Verstappen knows where ‘weakness’ of RB20 lies

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko explained that Max Verstappen discovered on Saturday the characteristic of where he feels his car has got away from him this season, and it is now up to Red Bull to fix it as quickly as possible.

“Max recognised on Saturday where the weakness of the car is,” Marko told De Telegraaf.

“Together with the engineers, a decision was made on how to improve the car and make it competitive again.

“We just need to find out which part made the car worse. If we knew that, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Read more: Max Verstappen makes crucial RB20 discovery with main problem now identified

McLaren to look into ‘papaya rules’ after first-lap pass at Monza

Oscar Piastri launched a daring and successful move on Lando Norris on the first lap at Monza on Sunday, and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said he would investigate if such an action contravened the ‘papaya rules’ – the term which launched its way into the Formula 1 lexicon over the weekend.

“We will have to review together with the drivers, look at the videos, understand their point of view, and then we will assess together whether they were fully compliant or not,” he told media including PlanetF1.com.

“We will take the learning, if there is any learning that we need to take, and then we will adjust the ‘papaya rules’ such that they allow us to pursue in the best possible manner both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship because we have to be now in condition to acknowledge that not only the Constructors’ Championship is possible.”

Read more: McLaren launch ‘papaya rules’ investigation with Oscar Piastri move under question

Sergio Perez wishes gap was bigger to Max Verstappen, to ensure race wins

Sergio Perez finished two places behind Max Verstappen on the road on Sunday, but given the gaps have often been larger, it would have been seen as a positive weekend for him.

When asked if he felt that was the case, he took rather the opposite view for the benefit of the team.

“No, I wish the gap was a lot bigger and that Max was winning because at the end that will only help the team and in the Constructors’ especially,” he told the media including PlanetF1.com at Monza.

“So, yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do to fix this issue and hopefully the next few races can be better for us.”

Read more: Why Sergio Perez wishes gap was actually bigger to Max Verstappen after Monza troubles

Red Bull pace decline ‘really weird’ – Toto Wolff

Given how much Red Bull have dropped away from the peak of Formula 1 as it stands, Toto Wolff gave his view on the situation.

“Yeah, that’s really weird,” he told PlanetF1.com when asked about Red Bull’s change in competitiveness.

“I mean, I have no insight, obviously, but that is not at all the Red Bull of the start of the year – dominant.

“I think that Max was able to keep it going for a while with his ability, but it seems now that, from the sheer results – and that’s what I see without understanding, without knowing what’s going on inside because it could also be a blip.”

Read more: Red Bull pace decline ‘really weird’ as Toto Wolff makes ‘worst race’ claim

Conclusions from an emotional, brilliant Italian Grand Prix

For the comprehensive lowdown at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, look no further than our post-race Conclusions.

Our own Oliver Harden is on hand to sum up the biggest talking points from Monza as events from the circuit die down, while we look to a gap in proceedings before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

There’s lots to get through, so let us guide you.

Read more: Italian GP conclusions: Time for Norris to toughen up and Verstappen to resist temptation