In Monaco, Red Bull struggled to find grip and performance in the slow corners compared to their rivals, confirming the RB21’s limitations on twisty circuits, to the point that they failed to improve on their 2023 lap time. Verstappen finished fourth, and paradoxically, even if it may seem strange for a driver fighting for the title, it’s almost a positive result.
After the victory in Imola, Red Bull arrived in Monte Carlo with some hope that the latest updates could help the RB21 exceed expectations through the streets of the Principality. However, there was also a dose of realism, as some of the fundamental characteristics of a car’s DNA can’t be changed completely in just a few weeks.
On the eve of the race, Max Verstappen had already shown a rather realistic outlook regarding Red Bull’s chances in Monaco, aware that the RB21, just like previous years’ cars, could struggle in the slow corners and over the curbs of Monte Carlo.
It may seem paradoxical for a title-contending driver, but the fourth place achieved at the end of the Monaco GP — also thanks to Hamilton’s penalty — represents a positive outcome, considering the difficulties of the weekend.
“Honestly, I’m not thinking much about the championship. I just want to take it race by race. Obviously, on some tracks we might be a bit more competitive, and on others we’ll struggle more. And I think it was clear that, once again here in Monaco, we had difficulties,” Verstappen said at the end of the race, underlining that it wasn’t the best weekend of the season.
“Honestly, every year we’ve had problems here with this new generation of ground-effect cars. Only in 2023 did we have a significant pace advantage, and in fact we won the race. But in all other years, personally, we always had to fight because we struggled.”
“Considering our pace throughout the weekend, we did a good job. I think, as a team, of course we’re never satisfied with fourth place. But we also have to accept it when we know the car’s limitations.”
Very clear words that align with what was observed at other events, where the RB21 struggled to express its full potential in medium-to-low-speed sections, focusing instead on performance with DRS open or in high-speed corners that require strong aerodynamic stability — two areas that usually don’t make the difference in Monaco.
However, there’s another factor that had an even greater impact: the general lack of grip. If in FP2 the team had made a setup mistake, suffering from excessive understeer, something seemed to change during Saturday morning’s final practice. On the medium compound, the C5, the RB21 was surprisingly good, but when they switched to the C6, grip dropped, and Verstappen failed to improve his time.
The same difficulties reappeared in the afternoon, even though the C6 was the preferred tyre for everyone during qualifying. Having heavily focused on qualifying — saving only one set of mediums and one set of hards for the race — Red Bull had to rely on the C6, but couldn’t find the grip needed to challenge McLaren and Ferrari.
While Ferrari and McLaren managed to improve on last year’s time, partly thanks to the C6, Red Bull couldn’t even replicate its 2023 performance, despite slightly cooler track temperatures. In the first two sectors, including the slow sections, Max was slower than last year, and only in the final few slow corners of sector three did he manage to shave off a few tenths. But in general, many drivers improved in that area, suggesting it wasn’t an isolated case.
In fact, when asked whether he had noticed any improvement in the slow corners and over the curbs — a key theme looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix — Max Verstappen replied negatively: “No, I don’t think so. In fact, we were slower than last year in qualifying. No, I don’t think we improved what we wanted to improve.”
The lack of grip was also evident in the race, where the plan from the start was to stay out as long as possible, hoping a red flag would shake things up. However, even during the race, the same grip issues emerged: “I had no grip, I was just driving around with no traction. But you can’t overtake here anyway.”
Beyond that, Max’s race was always built around trying to maximise opportunities, which is why, towards the end, they attempted — as a last resort — to slow down Lando Norris and bring him closer to Leclerc, hoping to force an error and put pressure on him.
With Monaco in the past, the next race is in Spain, where Max Verstappen won last year largely by capitalising on what happened in the first stint, when Lando Norris immediately dropped to third, allowing the Dutchman to build a gap and protect his lead to the chequered flag.
The Catalan circuit should suit the RB21 better, with its abundance of medium-to-high-speed corners where strong aerodynamic support is crucial. “Hopefully a bit better, yes. There are fewer slow corners and more fast ones. Hopefully that suits the car a bit more.”
But the more important theme will be another: understanding performance in medium-to-low-speed sections, where McLaren already made a difference last year. When it comes to making compromises, the MCL39 is the car with the most flexibility compared to its rivals, managing to reduce understeer in long corners — the area where Red Bull hopes to have taken a step forward through improved balance with its latest updates.
Leave a Reply