“Ferrari are miles ahead” : Max Verstappen admits to not even thinking about beating Charles Leclerc at Monaco GP
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in both the practice sessions at the Monaco GP on Friday. The Ferrari driver finished +0.188 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the second session of the day to wrap up a strong start to the weekend. However, both the Red Bull drivers struggled to keep up with their competitors on Friday.
After finishing outside the top 10 in the first practice session, Max Verstappen managed to finish P4 in second session. However, he was still +0.535 seconds off the pace to Charles Leclerc, who looks on course to claim his third pole position in four years in Monaco.
Max Verstappen admitted that Ferrari and Charles Leclerc are miles ahead of Red Bull this weekend. The Dutchman also admitted that as things stand, they are not even considering to defeat Charles Leclerc given the pace Ferrari have shown on the opening day.
“We will try to make it a little better but I don’t expect any miracles. (Ferrari) are miles ahead so I’m not even thinking about that, just want to solve the issues we have,” said Verstappen, as quoted by BBC.
Max Verstappen wary of issues troubling Red Bull on opening day of Monaco GP
Max Verstappen believes that the issues which Red Bull have faced on the opening day might not have an easy fix, something which could be done a week earlier in Imola. However, he remains optimistic that the team could pull together something which can at least limit the damage.
Max Verstappen stated that there have been some changes in the track, which has cost him time during his laps. “Very difficult. It is not something I didn’t expect but it’s definitely at the higher end of the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far,” said the Dutchman.
“It’s just very difficult. There are a lot of bumps and kerbs and camber changes in the track and for us that is basically impossible to take. Every time we go over it, we lose a lot of lap time just because the car doesn’t ride well. There is also no really clear direction or solution to try and solve something like that,” he added.
On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had a fine day, as the Briton finished second in the final practice session of the day. Toto Wolff hinted at making some progress last week in Imola, as he stated that the true potential would come to life in the next couple of races.
The first day of the Monaco GP has set us up for an interesting qualifying day. Max Verstappen has often struggled in the practice sessions this season, however, he has come up with the goods when it matters the most.
