Verstappen: F1 Monaco Gp Was Not Really Racing

Max Verstappen claims he was ‘quite bored’ during the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix as he was “not really racing” due to the tyre strategies and difficulty in overtaking.

The Red Bull driver started and finished in sixth place, as the whole of the top 10 remained unaltered, in a race devoid of action after the opening-lap red flag caused by Sergio Perez’s incident with the two Haas drivers, which enabled all the remaining drivers to switch tyres and earn a free pitstop.

Despite Verstappen being one of the few drivers to select for a second change of tyres, covering off Lewis Hamilton’s undercut attempt a lap earlier, and promptly racing back up to the rear of George Russell’s Mercedes, he couldn’t find a way through even with an enormous tyre advantage.

“After the red flag our strategy was ruined as we had to put the medium on to the end as everyone had a free stop, and that meant that we had to save a lot,” Verstappen explained.

“I just tried to follow George and we were so off the pace trying to manage the tyres. That is of course quite dull out there, driving essentially half-throttle on the straights in some areas, a gear higher than you would typically do and four seconds off the pace, so that is not really racing.”

Despite this, Verstappen acknowledged it is part of racing at the Monaco GP with the track layout and believes only altering that will help liven up the action.

“First I would like to try to, if there are possibilities, change a few things,” he said. “Because it’ll make the excitement even better.

“Overall the weekend is really cool, just the Sunday is a little bit boring unfortunately, but the scenery is still great. If we can discover a means to race a tad better, why not? That would be my preferable solution.

“Yes to layout changes, because you cannot pass at the moment. If they ask for my opinion [on adjustments] I will endeavor to see what is feasible, but it also depends what paths you are going to take.”

Coupled with Leclerc’s maiden home victory at Monaco, Verstappen has seen his F1 world championship lead reduced to 31 points over the Ferrari driver, while Red Bull’s advantage in the F1 world constructors’ is down to 24 points over the Italian squad.