Third in both free practice sessions, Max Verstappen believes Red Bull still needs to fine-tune its car to hope to compete with Ferrari in qualifying. The Dutchman remains confident, however, ahead of the key moment of the weekend.
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Friday in Monaco confirmed a strong trend: Ferrari seems to have a solid advantage over one lap. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton each dominated a free practice session, placing the Scuderia at the top of the provisional hierarchy.
Max Verstappen, for his part, finished third in both sessions, each time behind the two Ferraris. In FP2, however, the triple world champion was very close, missing out on Hamilton’s best time in qualifying simulations by less than a tenth.
Behind them, the other competitors seemed distanced, notably McLaren, penalized by Lando Norris’s breakdown at the start of the second session, and a Mercedes that was more inconsistent in its pace.
Verstappen calls for precise adjustments
Despite a generally positive feeling behind the wheel, the Red Bull driver believes his team still needs to optimize certain details to hope to close the gap with the Scuderia.
“It was a pretty positive day, honestly” explained Verstappen after FP2.
The Dutchman emphasizes the importance of feel in a demanding city like Monaco, where confidence behind the wheel is crucial for performance.
“We felt pretty good in the car, and here in Monaco, it’s particularly important to have a good feeling” he added.
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Red Bull wants to close the gap before qualifying
While Ferrari seems to have gained the upper hand over one lap, Verstappen refuses to draw hasty conclusions. The Red Bull driver calls on his team to continue working on settings to maximize the potential of the RB.
“We still need to adjust a few things” he admitted.
The Dutchman also insists on the need to make progress before the qualifying session, a truly decisive moment of the Monaco weekend.
“Ferrari is very strong right now, so we’re going to try to get as close as possible tomorrow” he continued.
A tight battle ahead for pole
With extremely small gaps between the top teams, the qualifying session promises to be particularly competitive. Verstappen remains confident, however, in Red Bull’s ability to make progress between Friday and Saturday.
“We are happy with our current position, but we are always looking to extract more from the car. We will see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow” concluded the Dutchman.
In a context where every thousandth counts, Red Bull knows that a perfect lap will be needed to challenge Ferrari’s announced dominance in Monaco.
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