Although Leclerc had led both of Friday’s free practice sessions in Monaco, Saturday looked different for Red Bull after Pérez led the third practice, FP3.
However, the Ferrari Monegasque stepped up in Q3 having also been quickest in Q1 and Q2, and took pole. And to make matters worse, Carlos Sainz completed the double for the Cavallino , which made the energy drinks team have to settle for third and fourth place.
That generated a certain flavor of defeat in Red Bull Racing, aware that in Monaco on Saturday many things begin to be decided. And among its drivers, one more annoying than the other, a Verstappen who has been in the shadow of Checo Pérez all weekend.
The Dutchman blamed his result on a problematic RB18 on the streets of the Principality: “Checo manages to drive an understeer car, he likes it, but as far as I’m concerned if the front end is not very strong, corner entry is a problem I want the car to turn very fast. We improved the car, in qualifying there was a step forward, and in Q3 it looked even better.”
Verstappen’s tactic, decided together with the team, was to get out early enough at the end of Q3 to make two attempts.
“We found that by concentrating on one fast lap, you weren’t getting the tires into the perfect window,” he explained. “So in the last run we decided to go ahead and go early and give it our all on the second and last lap. But I found those two cars standing still, and it was a shame. But it’s certainly not the first time that’s happened in Monaco.” .
That last tagline already hinted that Verstappen was not at all happy with the accident suffered by his teammate Pérez and that he ended up leaving two cars (the RB18 and Sainz’s Ferrari) in the middle of the track before the tunnel.
And then the champion went further: “It’s kind of irritating, in this case it’s obviously a shame that the driver who crashed into the barriers was my teammate.”
And he even considers that an accident in qualifying for the Monaco GP is punishable!: “But in the end there are no penalties for this type of situation, so if you know that you did well with the first set of tires, you always think… ‘You know what? I park it or tactically send it against the wall.
But beyond that accusation, the sign that it was a painful Saturday for Red Bull was that Sergio Pérez, much happier, also questioned his team’s strategy. The one from Guadalajara only had one fast lap in the last session of Q3 (Verstappen was two attempts away), and he considers that he did not have the tires at the best point.
“I think we had more potential than we saw, but the strategy did not allow us to have the tires at the right temperature, especially with the last set. Before the accident I was already at risk of losing control of the car in Santa Devota. hindsight, we didn’t do our best today.
The air was choppy at Red Bull, and long faces were visible in both boxes. This Sunday, the hope is to look at the sky and for the rain to come. But probably even there it won’t rain to everyone’s liking.
