“The Mythical End”: 17 Months After Bottling His Epic Feat, Max Verstappen’s Monaco Heroics Tipped to Be the Much-Needed Closure

Nowhere on earth does a driver moves like he does in Monaco. Packed into the narrow streets, the Monte Carlo circuit has a lot of corners, making it arguably one of the most dangerous places to drive in. However, Max Verstappen tip-toed his way through towards victory amidst the rain ensuing chaos, leading all 78 laps from the pole position. Although it looked easy, it was an extremely difficult race for the defending champion, with his rival, Fernando Alonso, pushing him from behind during the incredibly slippery race. That’s why the Red Bull driver also clipped into barriers a couple of times, almost putting his race at risk. Post-race, the Dutchman himself admitted that he was lucky to survive in Monaco. Because he knows how a track with the most corners can often prove to be the one with too many corners–take the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying. 

In a thrilling Q3, Verstappen looked set to land a huge blow to rival Lewis Hamilton by taking pole position for 2021’s penultimate race, but a disaster struck. During the final lap, Verstappen locked up and crashed into the wall, losing a potential pole position, consequently a victory. But in the 2023 season, he redeemed himself in the most dreaded corners of F1. During the Monaco qualifying, Verstappen was fifth going into his final lap in Q3. But displaying champion class in the final moments, the Red Bull driver went on to take pole position away from rival Alonso.

Describing Verstappen’s final sector as ‘the mythical end’, the editor-in-chief at F1Maximaal Mark Hanselman said, “If you see how small the differences were in qualifying between four teams, the Dutchman himself made the difference there. That third sector was the mythical end that earned his legendary round in Saudi Arabia in 2021. On Sunday, Verstappen finished off in the wet in the most difficult conditions, having completed the longest stint of all on the medium tires. There is no doubt that Verstappen has been head and shoulders above the competition in recent years.”

Read More: Despite Teasing a Title Fight, Fernando Alonso Admits Defeat With His “Best Possible Option” Against Max Verstappen

On the other hand, although Sergio Pérez would have liked to live up to the ‘King of the Streets’ moniker, luck hadn’t sided with him as it had for Verstappen. 

‘Can’t afford another zero’: Sergio Perez after a damaged Monaco weekend

Hopes were high on Sergio Perez going into the Monaco Grand Prix, given his reputation of being unbeatable on street circuits. However, he failed miserably. During the qualifying, as Perez was setting out on another flying lap in Q1, he pushed too hard and slammed into the barrier at turn 1. As a result, he was forced out of the qualifying and started the race from the bottom of the grid. Despite much effort, he was unable to recover and finished the race in a lowly 16 position. Because of a small mistake, the Mexican driver lost out on many points, further falling behind his rival Max Verstappen in the championship standings. 

Post-race, admitting his mistake was unacceptable, downbeat Perez said: “We paid the price for my mistake in qualifying, and that has been very expensive. I just have to apologize to my whole team because it’s unacceptable to have this kind of mistake. I have to move on and learn from it. I can’t afford another zero in the championship.” [Translated via Google]

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Sergio Perez is currently second in the championship standings with 105 points. He sits 39 points behind leader Max Verstappen with 144 points.