Predictions had Monaco as good hunting ground for Red Bull and Verstappen. The engineers and strategists from Milton Keynes are known for reading the weekend’s evolution well, as seen this year in Suzuka and Imola, and Max has already made important history among the Principality’s turns. However, the forecast was proven wrong, at least regarding qualifying results, not just because of the fifth final position, later upgraded to fourth after Lewis Hamilton’s penalty.
What stood out negatively was the gap to Norris’s pole position (a full 0.715 seconds) just six days after the Imola win that had highlighted the RB21’s performance. Another counterintuitive fact in the Red Bull weekend was the good start at the end of the week, with Verstappen immediately second in FP1 thanks to a setup base that this time was well balanced.
There was no usual technical overhaul of the setup on Friday evening, but paradoxically, in a weekend when the engineers should have worked on details, things worsened session by session.
The two-tenths deficit to Charles Leclerc in Q1 seemed recoverable, Verstappen entered the crucial moments on several occasions, but Monaco went differently. The gap grew to 0.305 seconds in Q2, then more than doubled in Q3.
“Our problems are all in low-speed corners,” Verstappen commented. “We have been struggling with this difficulty in Monte Carlo for several years, and it’s a problem that can’t be fixed with setup.”
Max heavily complained over the radio about lack of traction, both out of Sainte Devote and at Portier. “Especially in the second sector, the problem was obvious,” he noted, “and at the port chicanes (as well as at the swimming pools) I never managed to use the curbs.”
Starting from the second row ended up being better than Verstappen had expected. The mandatory two stops could open the door to the podium for Max, and the race pace should be competitive considering the much slower pace with full tanks.
“With two pit stops, the race could be interesting,” Verstappen concluded, “but we can’t take for granted that every choice we might have to make will work out. There are always risks. But considering my starting position, I prefer this scenario; in a straightforward race, it would be practically impossible to aim for more than the starting spot.”
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