Yahoo Autos Troubled Verstappen says Monaco struggles worse than feared
Max Verstappen says Red Bull is struggling even more than he had feared heading into the race weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix and has no clear way of solving its ride issues.
Red Bull has won every race in Monaco since 2021 but Verstappen was fourth fastest and half a second off the leading Ferrari of Charles Leclerc during FP2, having also not showed competitive pace during the first session. The championship leader says the car’s design means it doesn’t work well on the unique street circuit and that concerns about how tough the weekend could be have been realized.
“I don’t think I can describe what is going on,” Verstappen said. “It is very difficult. It’s not something that I did not expect. But it’s at the higher end of the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far. Difficult.
“A lot of bumps, curbs, and camber changes on the track. For us, it is impossible to take. Every time we go over it, we lose a lot of lap time because the car doesn’t ride well. It is hampering us, at the moment, to go faster.
“There is no clear direction or solution for the weekend to be able to solve something like that.”
Red Bull also struggled significantly during practice last weekend at Imola before Verstappen recovered to take pole position and hold off Lando Norris to win, but he says it’s not the same situation in Monaco.
“Imola was completely different. Different issues that we could solve with setup. These issues we cannot solve with setup because it’s how the car is made and designed. These things you cannot change overnight. We are stuck with it. We will try, but I don’t expect miracles.
‘[Ferrari is] miles ahead. I’m not even thinking about that. I just want to solve the issues that we have to make it more drivable. Then we’ll see where we are.
“I had fun driving. But it’s very difficult when the car is not doing what you want. With all the bumps, it’s easy to have one extra jump and you are against the walls. Maybe, in that sense, today was a good lesson. We know when the car jumps and bounces. I knew, coming into the weekend, that it would be difficult. I am not surprised to see Ferrari so quick.”
