Verstappen: F1 Monaco GP was not really racing

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

Despite Verstappen being one of the few drivers to opt for a second change of tyres, covering off Lewis Hamilton’s undercut attempt a lap earlier, and duly charging back up to the rear of George Russell’s Mercedes, he couldn’t find a way through even with a huge 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 boring out there, driving literally half-throttle on the straights in some places, a gear higher than you would normally do and four seconds off the pace, so that is not really racing.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Erik Junius

Despite this, Verstappen accepted it is part of racing at the Monaco GP with the track layout and feels only changing that will help spice 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 find a way to race a bit better, why not? That would be my preferred solution.

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

Coupled with Leclerc’s maiden home win at Monaco, Verstappen has seen his F1 world championship lead cut 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.

Watch: F1 2024 Monaco GP Review – Leclerc Finally Breaks the Curse