Max Verstappen is braced for a troublesome Monaco Grand Prix weekend conscious that his rivals are starting to mount a sustained problem to his bid for a fourth consecutive drivers’ world title. The three-time champion and sequence chief stated on Thursday that he felt each Ferrari and McLaren might threaten his hopes of a 3rd victory within the Mediterranean principality in Sunday’s race. “It is one of many tougher tracks for us,” stated the 26-year-old Dutchman, who received final Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by lower than a second forward of McLaren’s Lando Norris. “In the previous couple of years, Ferrari have at all times been very, very sturdy right here and McLaren, currently, within the final two races, have actually ramped up their efficiency so they’re, for certain, ones to observe as properly.
“In Monaco, you possibly can at all times have surprises. Final 12 months, Esteban (Ocon) did a tremendous lap in qualifying so these sort of issues can occur when somebody feels actually good, actually assured.”
Verstappen leads the drivers’ championship by 48 factors forward of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, after successful 5 of the opening seven races this 12 months, however is aware of that Norris, who claimed his maiden victory in Miami three weeks in the past, has the velocity to beat him.
The Dutchman hopes to increase his Ayrton Senna record-equalling sequence of eight pole positions to an outright new report of 9 in Saturday’s qualifying session that’s so crucial to the end result of Sunday’s race.
The excessive kerbs across the barrier-lined road observe signify a significant fear to Crimson Bull, as Verstappen admitted.
Final 12 months’s Singapore Grand Prix, on one other road circuit with excessive kerbs, was the one occasion at which they failed to attain a podium end.
“Our automotive usually struggles a bit over bumps and kerbs,” stated Verstappen.
“We did work on it a bit, in comparison with final 12 months, and I believe our low-speed efficiency has improved somewhat on many of the tracks we have been to this 12 months.
“However I do not suppose it’ll be a simple weekend! Monaco isn’t easy, even when you’ve got the very best automotive. It’s so very difficult. You might want to get all the pieces to work and there’s at all times quite a lot of disruption.”
He added that he needed to keep away from a repeat of his expertise at Imola the place after a foul begin, in two troublesome days of observe, he recovered to win by 0.725 seconds, resisting Norris’s late cost.
“For certain, issues have closed up rather a lot since Miami and now it is rather depending on discovering the very best set-up. We now have to be at our greatest and possibly in the previous couple of races we have not been working at that stage.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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