The Formula One world champion, Max Verstappen, has condemned his Red Bull car as “undriveable”, “a monster” and insisted he does not believe either he or his team remain world championship contenders as things stand.

Verstappen was speaking after finishing sixth at the Italian Grand Prix, where he was off the pace all weekend and the race was won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in second and third.

Verstappen made up only one place from his grid position of seventh as Norris cut his title lead to 62 points and McLaren moved to within eight points of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. The Dutchman was scathing after the poor performance in Monza.

“The car is undriveable, it’s a massive balance problem that we have, and that is not only over one lap but also the race,” Verstappen said. “Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster.”

Verstappen has not won now for six races after an absolutely dominant start to the season, winning seven of the opening 10 rounds, as a series of upgrades to the Red Bull have proved ineffectual and they have been caught by their rivals. Verstappen was blunt in his assessment, demanding changes and warning that without them the title would slip away.

“It doesn’t matter where we are [racing] at the moment, we are bad everywhere, so we need a lot of changes,” he said. “At the moment both championships are not realistic.”

Norris stated he believed it was time McLaren got behind his attempt to take the title and prioritise him over Piastri, after the Australian passed him on the opening lap with McLaren not yet imposing team orders.

“I would love it,” Norris said, when asked if it was time McLaren backed him. “But it is not up to me. It is up to the team. I don’t want to beg to be allowed past. A driver doesn’t want things to be played that way. And although I wouldn’t say we are running out of time, time is slipping away. I still believe I can do it.”