Monaco is worst-case scenario
Max Verstappen doesn’t understand his car
26.05.2024, 09:19
Red Bull has dominated Formula 1 for many years now, and the team is expected to produce the world champion again this season. But at the traditional race in Monaco, dominator Max Verstappen despairs of his car – and has harsh words to say.
The uneven street circuit in Monaco will be a real relationship test for Max Verstappen and his former wonder car. The world champion will only start the race on Sunday from sixth place (3 p.m./Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de)and after qualifying he spoke extensively and surprisingly openly about the weaknesses of his Red Bull.
“We tried everything in terms of setup, but the car is like a go-kart here,” he said. “It’s like I’m driving with no suspension. It bounces around, doesn’t absorb any kerbs, any bumps, any inclines on the track.”
This is “a fundamental problem” and “not new”, but Red Bull has failed to fix it in the years of clear superiority. The car has been showing this behavior since 2022, “but we had a big lead for a long time that masked the problem. If the others catch up and you don’t improve your weakest point, then you will be caught at some point. And that’s what happened here.”
“Worst-case scenario”
McLaren and Ferrari have already come closer in the last two races, “that was more difficult, but this track is the worst-case scenario for our car.” Verstappen does not believe there will be a quick solution this season: “First we have to understand what the problem is. And we clearly do not understand it.”
Depending on the track characteristics, there could be problems elsewhere too, now that the competition is closer to Red Bull overall. “There are also other tracks with bumps, or ones where you have to take the kerbs,” said Verstappen, “there are definitely a few tracks that are not ideal for us. But there are also some that still suit us well.”
Verstappen goes into Sunday’s race with a clear lead in the World Championship standings, with World Championship runner-up Charles Leclerc 48 points behind – and will start from pole position in Monaco. Verstappen is not worried about the title so far. “But we are not perfect, we have to understand our limits and we have to work on them.”