Max Verstappen: I just kept my rhythm

In Monaco, Max Verstappen took his 39th victory at the wheel of Red Bull cars, but he is not inclined to exaggerate the significance of his achievements.

Question You had a great race and got an impressive win in Monaco, and in the rain. How difficult was this Grand Prix?
Max Verstappen: Yes, his finish was quite frantic, but at the same time I believe it was important throughout the race to keep tire wear under control. Fernando Alonso started on hard tyres, which meant I had to drive a very long stretch – probably twice as long as we would like.

But there were rain clouds around the track and we had no real chance to make a pit stop. I want to say that if the weather was good and the sun was shining, I would visit the pits, get a Hard kit, then catch up with Fernando and wait for him to go to his pit stop.

But because of the risk of rain we couldn’t do this, so we had to stay on track. The tires were granulating and I had to wait out this stage, although it wasn’t easy. Fortunately, the pace then picked up a bit, but then of course it started to rain.

It was necessary to do a lap on heavily worn tires, and that is so much fun. When I returned to the pits I hit barriers several times and it was very difficult to keep the car on the track. But even when I got intermediate tyres, it was very slippery because there was a lot of water in the second sector.

Difficulties are also related to the fact that I didn’t want to take a particularly big risk despite the big advantage, but you also shouldn’t drive too slowly, because then you won’t be able to warm up the tyres. Therefore, it was necessary to find a compromise, and at first it was difficult, but after a few laps everything stabilized and it became quite comfortable to fly.

Q: How did you react when you saw Fernando start on hard tires before the start of the race?
Max Verstappen: I want to say that I was not that surprised, but knowing the weather forecast, I understood that I had to drive a long first part.

Q: When you switched to intermediate tyres, you started to lose a little bit to Fernando – maybe your lead was reduced by five seconds in the first five laps. Can you explain, is this just because the rubber still had to be warmed up? And how did you manage to not only stabilize the gap, but also widen it?
Max Verstappen: This was only because I didn’t want to take any chances, so I tried not to keep the same pace and not go faster, because everything could end in an accident. We should have acted more carefully.

At one point, Lando Norris even caught up with me, which is when I thought I should add. But I agree, it’s not a very comfortable situation when you have to act like that on a wet track, but luckily after five laps I changed some settings with the switches on the handlebars achieved a more proper balance, and it has definitely helped.

Q: Before Monaco, drivers from other teams said that this track is their first chance to overtake Red Bull and compete with you. But in the end you also won here. Do you think the rivals will get any more opportunities during the season, and if so, where?
Max Verstappen: Frankly, I don’t know. But this can happen as early as next weekend, because always and in everything you need to try to act perfectly and use all the possibilities. We know that our car is capable of excellent pace at race distance, but at the same time mistakes, failures and other things should not be allowed.

Of course, you just have to try to perform better and keep progressing. Although in general there is always a risk of various kinds of complications on urban routes and there is always more chaos. However, it is difficult to say at which track something like this will happen next.

Question Closer to the finish of the race you almost lost control of the car several times and nearly crashed into the fenders. Why didn’t you slow down even though you were almost 19 seconds ahead of Alonso at the time?
Max Verstappen: My engineer asked the exact same question, but when you get into a certain rhythm, it’s best to just stick with it. I think I only hit the barrier in one lap when I thought I could add more, then I hit the bump stop. Then I realized that it was impossible to go faster, but everything worked out.

In general, it is better to keep your rhythm than to slow down and get out of the usual state, moreover, the tires will also start to cool down from this. Moreover, they were already quite cold, so it does not depend on your desire. I guess I wasn’t going too fast anyway, I just kept my rhythm.

Q: This is your 39th victory for Red Bull and you have surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s record. How important is this to you?
Max Verstappen: If you drive a good car long enough, you have the opportunity to break those records. Although, of course, it’s great. I never thought such a moment would come in my career. Growing up I just wanted to be in Formula 1, so winning races is a lot of fun. Absolutely, it’s going much better than I could have ever imagined.