Dejected Max Verstappen baffled as to how his dominant Red Bull car has become 'a monster'

MONZA, Italy (AP) — What a difference a year makes.

Even Max Verstappen is at a loss as to how he went from having such a dominant Formula 1 car last season to one that he now describes as “a monster.”

The Red Bull driver had a weekend to forget at the Italian Grand Prix as he could only qualify in seventh place and went on to finish sixth in Sunday’s race.

“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever. And we basically turned it into a monster,” a dejected Verstappen said. “So we have to turn it around.”

Last year at Monza, Verstappen secured a record 10th straight win in a season where the final outcome was never in doubt.

Now the three-time defending F1 champion is without a victory in six straight races, his longest winless run since 2020, and is seeing his lead in the drivers’ standings being chipped away by Lando Norris race by race.

There was some consolation on Sunday as Norris could only finish third, behind his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc — who delighted the passionate red-clad tifosi with a win at Ferrari’s home track after an audacious one-stop strategy.

Nevertheless, Norris trimmed the gap to Verstappen to 62 points, while McLaren moved to just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

“At the moment both championships are not realistic,” Verstappen said.

The Dutch driver added that he had given as much feedback as he could to the team in recent weeks but “unfortunately I don’t have a degree in engineering or aerodynamics.”

“Now it’s up to the team to come with a lot of changes with the car because we basically went from a very dominant car to an undrivable car in the space of, what, six to eight months?” Verstappen continued.

“So that is very weird for me. And we need to really turn the car upside down.”

There are eight races left, including ones in Austin, Texas, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi — three tracks on which Verstappen has triumphed in each of the last three years.

“It doesn’t matter. With how we are at the moment, we are bad everywhere,” Verstappen said.

Norris could have been even closer to Verstappen if McLaren had intervened in the final few laps, and ordered its drivers to swap positions as Piastri’s chances of chasing Leclerc down for victory faded.

That would have handed Norris what could prove to be a vital three points in the title race.

“I’m not here just to beg for someone to let me pass, that’s not what I’m here for,” Norris said. “I’m here to race, he (Piastri) drove a better race than me so I finished third and that’s where I deserved to finish.”

But when pressed, Norris acknowledged that he would prefer the team to make his title push the priority.

“I mean I would love it, but it’s not up to me,” he said. “It’s a tough one, obviously I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time but time is going away slowly and I still believe we can do it. The pace is obviously great. I still believe we probably have close to if not the best car again today.

“I don’t know, it’s not for me to decide, it’s for the team … when you’re fighting for a championship you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can. The best way simply is just to win the race and I didn’t do that today because of some silly things.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates his pole position after qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, left, leads the field after the start during the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, centre, celebrates on the podium with second placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, left, and third McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain after the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands gets a pit service during the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. ({byline}/Pool Photo via AP)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Formula One Italian Grand Prix race at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands grimaces during driver's parade ahead of the Italy's Formula One Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sep.1, 2024 (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Sphere, Las Vegas' transformational new masterpiece, stole the show Saturday night at UFC 306, but Merab Dvalishvili put on a performance not to be forgotten in capturing the bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision over Sean O'Malley.

The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili (18-4), a 33-year-old from the country of Georgia. He used a ground-and-pound attack to control most of the action against O'Malley (18-2).

O'Malley, 29, who lives in Phoenix, was a slight -125 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.

Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed the women's flyweight championship with all three judges awarding her a 50-45 victory over Alexa Grasso in the co-main event.

This was the third consecutive meeting between the two after Grasso took Shevchenko's belt in the first match. The second was a draw.

The third one wasn't closer, with the 36-year-old Shevchenko (24-4-1) using a ground-and-pound strategy to win all three rounds over 31-year-old Grasso (16-4-1) on the judges' cards.

“It's so huge," said Shevchenko, who is from Kyrgyzstan. "It like a dream come true fighting in the Sphere.”

This show at the Sphere was unlike any show in the UFC's history, taking full advantage of the 160,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen to create an outer-space type feel as the pay-per-view portion of the card was about to begin.

UFC President Dana White called this card his “love letter to Mexico,” and mini stories of the neighboring country's history and culture as part of a celebration of the country’s Independence Day weekend were told on the screen throughout the evening. One created the illusion the arena was moving as the video played out.

Seven Mexican fighters, including Grasso, populated the card, and chants from the crowd of “Mexico” broke out several times.

Aztec pyramids seeming to hover over one contest in the octagon changed from night to morning. Another fight took place with a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday scene that included dressed up male and female skeletons lighting up the screen. Other matches had similar scenes dominating the background.

The screen was used throughout to introduce a tell-of-the-tape of each fighter, and highlights were shown on the building's exterior.

White has said this is a one-and-done given the overwhelming undertaking to put together the show as well as the roughly $20 million cost. To help pay for it, White secured a title sponsor for the first time for one of his PPV cards, making the official name Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

But White has waffled as the event approached, and it's possible the UFC will have future cards at the Sphere, those the organization is contractually obligated to MGM Resorts, which includes T-Mobile Arena. An exception was made for this night and perhaps there will be more.

T-Mobile had its own tribute to Mexican Independence Day three miles away with Canelo Alvarez winning by unanimous decision as the headline fighter.

UFC's in-house production team crew worked with Antigravity Academy production led by founder and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada to put together this event.

Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, considered by many to be the greatest fighter in UFC history, will face Stipe Miocic in UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Jones has not fought since moving up from light heavyweight to claim the heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane on March 4, 2023.

Jones, who was in the crowd wearing a black cowboy hat, and Miocic were scheduled to fight last year, but a pectoral injury forced Jones to postpone.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Attendees watch Yazmin Jauregui fights Ketlen Souza in a women's strawweight mixed martial arts bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Attendees wait for the main mixed martial arts event during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko, right, fights Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili appear on screen during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)