Max Verstappen always manages to make his presence felt. That’s how he has always been, even when his RB21 isn’t capable of delivering a dominant weekend. After the win in Imola, things were very different in Monaco, with the Dutchman far from the front row both in qualifying and in the race. Under the sweltering heat of Montmeló, the four-time world champion didn’t manage to take pole position, but by securing third, he was the best of the rest.
A result that certainly doesn’t satisfy the ambitions of the Dutch lion, who nonetheless, based on what was seen during the free practice sessions, still has a shot in the race. Verstappen’s long-run pace was very close to that of the two McLarens, which indicates that with a good start, he could be in contention. Here’s what Max Verstappen had to say to the media after qualifying:
“If we look at what we’ve seen so far, we know we’re not the leading force right now. But on many occasions, we’ve still managed to be ahead, thanks to some mistakes made [referring to McLaren],” he admitted. “It’s a reality that’s hard to hide. Some tracks are more difficult than others, while some allow us to be competitive. I’ll always give it a try — I’m not here not to fight — but it’s right to be realistic,” the Dutchman added.
An unexpected ally
During the interview, the conversation shifted to Yuki Tsunoda’s disastrous qualifying. The Japanese driver will start last in the Spanish GP (which begins at 3 PM), and criticism over his recent decline in performance has intensified. Asked for his opinion on the matter, Verstappen surprised the media by defending his teammate.
“Yuki is not a slacker. When he was at Racing Bulls, he was doing very well, even better than Liam and Isack. Obviously, this is something that’s been going on for a long time [referring to his teammates’ poor results], and that in itself is a signal.”
When asked to elaborate on what he meant by that last statement, Max concluded the exchange by saying, “You can figure it out yourself.” The allusion seems clear — he was pointing to the performance of the RB21, a car clearly inferior to its predecessors. But there’s no time for talk now — it’s time to focus on racing. Red Bull faces two very different missions in today’s race: Max Verstappen must fight to assert his leadership or at least maintain a podium finish, while Yuki Tsunoda is called to attempt a major comeback to reach the points zone.
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