Max Verstappen’s Saving Grace from Imola Fails Him in Monaco GP

Max Verstappen is no longer the top dog in F1, at least, for the Monaco GP. Home hero, Charles Leclerc’s SF24 has been blazing through the streets of the Circuit de Monaco, topping FP2 and FP3, while Red Bull’s state looks like the Mercedes of the last 2 years. Moreover, the key element of overnight simulation that helped Verstappen in Imola seems to have failed terribly in Monaco.

In Imola, Lando Norris got too close to the Dutchman’s Red Bull, but he managed to secure his 5th 2024 victory. Team Principal Christian Horner credited their simulator drivers, including Sebastian Buemi, for overcoming the RB20’s “big dive” in performance. But the RB20 that lacked pace around the bumpy Italian track is performing even worse around an even-bumpier Monaco circuit.

Max Verstappen has already conceded defeat to Charles Leclerc, claiming Ferrari is “miles ahead”. However, unlike Imola, they haven’t seen much improvement overnight after a troublesome Friday. This is because their simulator driver, Sebastian Buemi, also a Formula E driver, competed in the Shanghai E-Prix. And so is their development driver, Jake Dennis.

Even though Verstappen finished P2 in FP3, considerably better after a P11 in FP1 and a P4 in FP1, the car still felt undrivable. After FP3, teammate Sergio Perez remarked, “We have a lot of work to do. The car is nowhere.” The beginning of their race weekend was so bad that Red Bull couldn’t fathom the ‘unsolvable’ issues.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have “no clear direction” for a Monaco GP Win

In Helmut Marko’s Monaco GP predictions, Charles Leclerc was always the obvious winner. Moreover, Max Verstappen, for the first time in 3 years, is looking so low-spirited. The beginning of the end of Red Bull’s dominance is around the corner and Ferrari holds the cards to begin proceedings at the Monaco GP.

“I don’t think I can describe what is going on. It is very difficult,” Verstappen said on Friday. “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.

The Red Bull racer even emphasized how the bumps and curbs make them “lose a lot of lap time” and “hampering” their pace. He then put the final nail in the coffin, saying, “There is no clear direction or solution for the weekend to be able to solve something like that.”

Marko has even declared that “the Max factor won’t be enough” in Monaco unless they fix their car. Unless Red Bull has taken its sandbagging to another level, Leclerc looks set to be crowned the Monaco GP’s new king.