On the eve of one of the most iconic weekends of the season, Max Verstappen arrives at Thursday in Monte Carlo with his usual mix of analytical coolness and awareness of Red Bull’s potential, but also with a more cautious tone than usual due to the characteristics of the principality’s track.
Verstappen: “The RB21’s window is narrow, but we made progress in understanding it at Imola.”
The three-time world champion knows well that the Principality’s street circuit is an anomaly on the Formula 1 calendar, and that it leaves no room for mistakes. “This weekend I’m more cautious. Generally we do well on fast tracks. But even when you have the best car, putting the lap together here is still difficult,” admitted the Dutchman, speaking about the track’s challenges while expecting a fight with McLaren. Red Bull, after strongly responding to McLaren’s rising pressure at Imola, arrives in Monaco with some open questions, especially regarding the car’s operating window. The RB21 has always extracted maximum potential on front-limited circuits, which require a very stiff mechanical setup, as was evident in the Imola GP: “This year, it’s a bit harder to hit the operating window. We learned a lot at Imola. We worked a lot in the simulator. We know what we need from the car, but the window has been narrow for a year and a half now.”
On the championship: “To fight McLaren for the title, you need consistent results.”
Regarding the battle with McLaren for the drivers’ championship, Verstappen considers the fight still open, as the season hasn’t yet reached the one-third mark. More importantly, the gap with the Woking team is expected to shrink further with the upcoming technical directive on front wings in Barcelona, which according to the Milton Keynes team, should hinder McLaren: “In the end, what matters is where you are in the final race. We still have areas to improve. At Imola, we showed that when the car is fast, it doesn’t matter what strategy the others use, you beat them anyway.” The focus remains on consistency and efficiency: “I think if you want to win the championship, you have to be consistent. But we need to focus on performance, to make life easier. Better performance, longer tyre life—we want more.”
On the mandatory double pit stop: “It could liven up the race”
Regarding the uniqueness of the Monte Carlo circuit, Verstappen has no doubts. The track has always been known for its very few on-track overtakes, highlighting the crucial importance of Saturday qualifying. Even having the best car might not be enough, as a yellow/red flag, traffic, or a driver error is always around the corner. Moreover, being a street surface, the track evolution will be exponential, making the final Q3 attempt extremely important. Teams also face the unknown of the C6 tyre compound, designed specifically for Monaco (but already debuted at Imola) by Pirelli: “The track is very difficult. It’s narrow, bumpy… With overtaking so hard, qualifying is key. I’d say it’s pretty crazy. Monaco is a place where even the track needs to go your way. It depends a lot on where you are in traffic. You’re never relaxed here; you have to get into the rhythm, you’re always tense. I have no idea how the new C6s will behave here.”
Finally, Max Verstappen shared a thought on the potential strategic variable of the weekend. In February, the mandatory double pit stop was announced for the Monaco GP to try to make the race more dynamic and avoid the usual ‘train’ behind the leader that aimed to minimize consumption: “Maybe the two mandatory pit stops can liven up the grand prix a bit. If you nail the first stop, you still can’t relax until the end. Maybe if we went back to smaller cars it would be better. The 2026 ones will be a bit smaller, but maybe not enough.”
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