Max Verstappen is ready for the difficulties that await him at the Monaco Grand Prix. At the FIA press conference, the Red Bull Racing driver stated that the characteristics of the city circuit are not suitable for the RB20 car and that rivals from Ferrari and McLaren continue to close the gap.
Max Verstappen: “The Monaco circuit is radically different from Imola and the configuration is not particularly suitable for our car. This is because our car does not like bumps and curbs. Of course we have been working on this over the past year and on most of the slow circuits we have been able to reach higher speeds than in the past. But I don’t think it’s going to be an easy weekend.
Even if you have the best car at your disposal, it is still difficult to get everything right in Monaco. For example, it is not easy to get the tires to work in qualifying. Possible warning signs – there are always factors that can interrupt your attempt, and you need to be prepared for them.
The weekend in Imola started very badly, but we managed to turn the situation in our favor. I won, but the stage turned out to be quite nervous, I wouldn’t want a repeat. But the team knows that it will be even more difficult for us on this track, so tomorrow we will see what form we will be in.
I think Ferrari and McLaren can give us a fight. As I said, it will be more difficult for us due to the nature of the track, and in recent years Ferrari has been very, very fast in Monaco. As for McLaren, they have improved significantly over the last two stages, so you should keep an eye on them as well.
There are always surprises possible in Monaco, such as when Esteban Ocon drove a great qualifying lap last year. So we’ll see how it goes.”
When Verstappen was asked whether he believed that the high speed of McLaren and Ferrari in Miami and Imola was not a one-off event, but had become an established trend, and the battle would only intensify as the season progressed, Max replied: “Yes. We didn’t have the easiest weekend in Imola and we also expect some difficulties in Monaco. Now everything will depend on who manages to find the optimal settings and get the most out of the car on a given track.
There is no doubt that the battle has intensified. Our team must give 100%, although that is not always possible. In such cases it is important to earn points. Every weekend we try to find the best settings, but the gaps are of course getting smaller.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
