Max Verstappen and Red Bull uncharacteristically struggled at the Monaco Grand Prix. The RB20 seemed ill-at-ease on the streets of the principality throughout the weekend.
On Friday, Martin Brundle spotted Verstappen complaining about his Red Bull more than he had for ‘a while’ in the garage. He’d reported over the team radio that the car was a ‘knife-edge’.
The Dutchman had to settle for sixth in Saturday’s qualifying session after hitting the wall on his second run. And he wasn’t able to make any progress on race day either.
When Lewis Hamilton pitted to open up a gap behind him, Verstappen dived in for fresh tyres and reeled in George Russell. But even the grip advantage wasn’t enough for him to find a way past the Mercedes on a circuit where overtaking can be almost impossible.
Sixth place represents Verstappen’s lowest finish (retirements aside) since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. He’s only crossed the line lower than fifth five times in the last four seasons.
BBC F1 commentator Harry Benjamin said it was an ‘anonymous’ weekend for the 26-year-old. Race-winner Charles Leclerc trimmed his lead at the top of the championship to 31 points.
Max Verstappen doesn’t think Canadian Grand Prix circuit will suit Red Bull
After a weekend off, the F1 paddock will make its next stop in Montreal for the Canadian GP. On paper, it’s a very different proposition.
While it is technically a street circuit, it’s more open than Monaco and, crucially, much faster. But Verstappen still doesn’t seem especially optimistic about his chances of victory.
Williams team principal James Vowles noticed that the Red Bull was hitting the ground ‘pretty hard’ over the Monaco bumps. And Verstappen says there could be similar issues with the ride in Canada.
“It won’t be our best weekend either because of the curbs and bumps,” he told Sky Germany. “There are certainly some tracks where there will be some unexpected problems.”
Verstappen makes ‘amazing’ claim about Red Bull future
Verstappen predicted before the 2024 season began that he would win half of the year’s 24 races. That seemed a conservative estimate at the time given that he’d won 19 out of 22 last season.
And when he rattled off four of the first five this year, it looked as if a similarly dominant campaign was in store. But Ferrari and McLaren now appear to have caught up and exposed some slight weaknesses in the Red Bull winning machine.
Even as his advantage over the rest of the field narrows, though, he doesn’t seem to be thinking about a move away. Ahead of the race in Monaco, he said it would be ‘amazing’ to finish his career at Red Bull.
That would mean backing the team to stay on top on the other side of the sweeping 2026 regulation changes. Mercedes reportedly have an early engine advantage over the rest of the field, while some think Red Bull are lagging behind.
Still, Christian Horner and co. will be relieved to read Verstappen’s comments amid the instability elsewhere at Milton Keynes. Chief designer Adrian Newey recently rocked the team by handing in his resignation, but they appear to be steadying the ship.
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