Max Verstappen’s weekend in Monaco was quite an emotional rollercoaster as he went from having to settle for fourth in qualifying due to a red flag on his last attempt to finishing on the podium ahead of his main rival for the title.
The Dutchman climbed into the box as third after a hectic race in the Principality, and managed to extend his leadership in the world championship with respect to Charles Leclerc by adding three points more than the Ferrari driver.
Despite not having achieved a second successive win on this track after last season, Verstappen ended up satisfied on a celebratory day at Red Bull, with his fourth straight win of the year.
Getting out of the car, he forgot about his statements in which he insinuated that his teammate, Sergio Pérez, intentionally caused the red flag in qualifying, and was happy for the Mexican.
“This is a great result for Checo, I’m happy for him,” said the Dutchman. “I did everything I could after yesterday, as I was blocked by the red flag, which forced me to start from fourth position.”
“That was not ideal, but I did my best,” Verstappen continued. “With the strategy, we did very well to get ahead of Ferrari, and as a team we can feel very proud of this Sunday.”
“It was a very busy day, I increased my advantage in the world championship standings, and I didn’t expect that last night, so I can say that it was a positive day,” continued the reigning world champion.
Red Bull was able to overtake Ferrari to win in Monaco , and although they did not get the double because Carlos Sainz slipped between Pérez and Verstappen, they ended up very satisfied with the result.
“The execution was very good,” said the Milton Keynes team driver, before discussing Mick Schumacher’s crash that changed the course of the race. “It’s tricky when it’s wet and you haven’t driven here in those conditions.”
“It’s very slippery, it’s about being very focused, and it’s easy to make a mistake,” he added. “Luckily nothing really crazy happened, just the Mick [Schumacher] thing, but I’ve heard he’s okay, so all in all a pretty good day.”
