Max Verstappen said he had ‘no emotions’ about the fact that a desired red flag did not come during the Monaco Grand Prix. The race was a struggle for Red Bull, and the driver from Limburg is happy that the weekend is over.
“Given our lack of speed, fourth place was fine,” Verstappen said after the race in the port of Monte Carlo. “You also have to accept the limitations,” he pointed out, referring to his car, which simply doesn’t work well on the overgrown kart track on the Mediterranean Sea.
On Thursday and Saturday after qualifying, Verstappen already explained in detail that his car has so much trouble with the height differences and bumps. That was not new information; it has been the recurring story of Red Bull and Monaco in recent years.
Attempts to improve that came to nothing. “We haven’t improved anything from what we wanted to improve for this circuit. We were even slower in qualifying than last year,” Verstappen judged severely. “We try it every year, but it never seems to work here.”
At the start, the driver from Limburg briefly appeared next to Oscar Piastri, but after that, his chances of reaching the podium on speed were gone. A long, boring part of the race began. “I was really on the edge of my seat every lap, very exciting,” a sarcastic Verstappen smiled.
He amused himself with funny pit radio messages, saying, among other things, that shifting gears “felt like his gearbox came from the Monaco Grand Prix in 1972.” Was there a big problem? No, “the upshifting was a bit inconsistent. It got better later.”
‘We had Nothing to Lose’
Yet there was still a chance for Red Bull. While winner Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Piastri bravely dived in for their second stop, Verstappen stayed out and thus took the lead. It was a gamble by Red Bull.
“We had nothing to lose. There was a huge gap behind Piastri of almost 50 seconds,” Verstappen explained the gamble. “Then you can pit and then just drive laps in that gap. Or you hope that something happens and that you get lucky.”
Verstappen did not intentionally hold up norris
It wasn’t so much a safety car that Verstappen needed. “No, we would still have finished fourth. It was really about a red flag. But it didn’t come,” Verstappen looked back.
He won’t lose sleep over it tonight. “No, I really have no emotion about it. We didn’t have the speed anyway, so it’s fine. At times when I tried to stay with those guys, my tires got too hot quickly. This just isn’t our track.”
Verstappen nevertheless brought a little excitement back into the race. Not only by gambling on the red flag himself, but at the same time, he held up Norris so much that Leclerc came very close to the McLaren driver. There was no question of intent, Verstappen stated. “No, I just had no grip. I drove as hard as the tires allowed. And even then you see that no one gets past.”
After a few days of rest, Verstappen will travel to Barcelona for the final chapter that opens the European season. He is looking forward to it. “That track definitely suits us better. I don’t expect us to be seven tenths short in qualifying again. That wouldn’t be good.”
Red Bull is also bringing some new parts to the Spanish Grand Prix. In addition, the new FIA regulations for flexing wings will take effect. Verstappen tempered expectations. “People naturally hope that everything will be shaken up, but I honestly don’t expect much from it.”