Before the beginning of the 2024 season, Max Verstappen ruled out a repeat of the dominance he showed in 2023. It seems to have come true as the reigning champion has lost two races already in the season. Sensing a difficult outing in the upcoming Monaco GP, Verstappen has let his apprehension known.
As per @JunaidSamodien_ on X, he said, “I don’t think this will be an easy weekend [either] but Monaco always is, hard to get the tires to work, red flags… A lot of things can go right but a lot of things can go wrong. We know that this is a difficult track for us.”
Max Verstappen: “I don’t think this will be an easy weekend [either] but Monaco always is, hard to get the tyres to work, red flags… A lot of things can go right but a lot of things can go wrong. We know that this is a difficult track for us.”
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) May 23, 2024
Apart from Red Bull’s own struggles, Max Verstappen will have to overcome another issue to emerge victorious. That roadblock is the closing gap between him and the rivals like McLaren and Ferrari.
In Imola, the Dutchman bagged the pole position by less than a tenth of a second between him and Oscar Piastri. On Sunday, the 26-year-old beat Lando Norris to the finish line by a gap of just 0.725 seconds.
“It’s about time someone put him under pressure”
Lando Norris on his close battle with Max Verstappen last weekend, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/QGFPXmmbxQ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 23, 2024
Ferrari too introduced an extensive upgrade package on the Italian circuit. The results were clearly visible as Charles Leclerc topped the two practice sessions on Friday. Had it not been for a surprise uptick in Red Bull’s performance beginning with qualifying, the red team looked impressive enough to land on the first row in qualifying.
How Red Bull turned its fortunes to give Max Verstappen a lifeline in Imola
All three practice sessions looked nothing short of a nightmare for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Each time the Dutchman looked to push for a flying lap, he lost control to either land in the gravel or in the grassy run-off areas. Fortunately, none of those incidents resulted in a crash. His Mexican teammate wasn’t as lucky as he crashed his car into the barriers during FP3.
What turned around their fate was some handy work done during the simulator runs. For that, team principal Christian Horner credited Sebastien Buemi. Speaking with media, including Crash, he said, “Sebastien Buemi. We did a lot of work on set-up on Friday into Saturday to move the balance and get the balance into a much better window.”
Verstappen: In the past, Ferrari and McLaren are fast, and lately, McLaren are fast with their upgrades, and you can have suprises like las year with Aston Martin
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) May 23, 2024
In his recent comment, Verstappen also talked about the surprises Monaco threw at him in 2023. The reference was to the surprisingly fierce competition put up by Fernando Alonso for the pole position.
Verstappen had to push his car to the absolute edge to beat the Spaniard’s time. The lesson from last year will keep him wary of any uncertainties that might come his way.
