Max Verstappen doesn’t think the Canadian Grand Prix will be Red Bull’s best weekend, but insists things are likely to improve in Monaco.
Max Verstappen is downplaying hopes of a Red Bull comeback at the Canadian Grand Prix after the team endured its most difficult weekend since Singapore last year. The Milton Keynes team started this season confidently and well ahead of 2023, but has recently found itself in more difficult situations.
This slump came to a head at the Monaco Grand Prix, when Sergio Pérez retired early in qualifying and Verstappen could only record the sixth fastest time and finished the race in that position.
The crux of the problem facing Red Bull is that the rapid improvements made by McLaren and Ferrari have exposed fundamental weaknesses in the RB20, most notably its inability to get over kerbs.
“The nature of the roads in Montreal highlights this inherent problem, and the Montreal track also has characteristics that make it more suitable for kerb driving, so I don’t expect Red Bull to have its strongest weekend on the new surface,” Verstappen told RacingNews365 and other media when asked about the team’s prospects in Canada. “I think there’s always the possibility of surprises, but that’s why it probably won’t be its strongest weekend, but it will probably be a bit better than here.”
‘We didn’t deserve to be there…’
Verstappen was forthright about his dissatisfaction with the RB20’s pace in Monaco, stressing that the team needs to improve some of the car’s more extreme tendencies.
Red Bull struggled in the principality last season but as rivals get closer, previously unnoticed or small issues are becoming more apparent.
But the 26-year-old was quick to stress that the team understands the seriousness of the situation. “I think we take everything very seriously but sometimes it’s not so easy to fix things,” he explained. “But we’re working hard.” Despite a difficult weekend in Monaco, the Dutchman remained calm about his team’s performance.
He stressed that he does not qualify to compete for race wins and that achieving lap times remains his focus. “I think I need to work more on the speed of the car,” he said. “Obviously, I would have liked to be there (for the podium winners’ press conference) but I wasn’t qualified for it this weekend. That’s just how it works.”
