Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Troubled Verstappen says Monaco struggles worse than feared
Max Verstappen says Red Bull is struggling even more than he had feared heading into the race weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix and has no clear way of solving its ride issues.
Red Bull has won every race in Monaco since 2021 but Verstappen was fourth fastest and half a second off the leading Ferrari of Charles Leclerc during FP2, having also not showed competitive pace during the first session. The championship leader says the car’s design means it doesn’t work well on the unique street circuit and that concerns about how tough the weekend could be have been realized.
“I don’t think I can describe what is going on,” Verstappen said. “It is very difficult. It’s not something that I did not expect. But it’s at the higher end of the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far. Difficult.
“A lot of bumps, curbs, and camber changes on the track. For us, it is impossible to take. Every time we go over it, we lose a lot of lap time because the car doesn’t ride well. It is hampering us, at the moment, to go faster.
“There is no clear direction or solution for the weekend to be able to solve something like that.”
Red Bull also struggled significantly during practice last weekend at Imola before Verstappen recovered to take pole position and hold off Lando Norris to win, but he says it’s not the same situation in Monaco.
“Imola was completely different. Different issues that we could solve with setup. These issues we cannot solve with setup because it’s how the car is made and designed. These things you cannot change overnight. We are stuck with it. We will try, but I don’t expect miracles.
‘[Ferrari is] miles ahead. I’m not even thinking about that. I just want to solve the issues that we have to make it more drivable. Then we’ll see where we are.
“I had fun driving. But it’s very difficult when the car is not doing what you want. With all the bumps, it’s easy to have one extra jump and you are against the walls. Maybe, in that sense, today was a good lesson. We know when the car jumps and bounces. I knew, coming into the weekend, that it would be difficult. I am not surprised to see Ferrari so quick.”
Presented by:
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
Read Chris Medland's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.