Winning in Monaco is always a special feeling, but doing it with changing conditions like today adds an extra touch. After starting from the pole obtained yesterday with a lap at the limit at the last attempt, Max Verstappen also took victory in a race that for around fifty laps had never seemed in question.
The Dutchman had chosen to start with the medium, quickly building up a gap of about ten seconds over Fernando Alonso. However, as the laps went by, the risk of rain became more and more concrete, enough to convince him to stay out, extending the stint as much as possible, passing through the graining phase which instead prompted other drivers to stop.
In any case, Verstappen maintained good times, which allowed him to continue without the need to make that stop which would have caused him to come out behind Fernando Alonso, who had started the race on the hard compound just in case of this eventuality. In fact, the Aston Martin Spaniard was the first of the leading duo to stop to switch to another slick tyre, returning to the pits again the following lap to switch to intermediates when it was now clear the rain had started to settle. wet not only the central sector, but also the remaining two.
“It’s great to win in Monaco, especially the way we won today, with the weather and everything. We kept calm and drove the car home. Furthermore, many points for the team and this is positive”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, in his first stint with the middle school
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“It was quite a difficult race, because we were on average at the start and Fernando (Alonso) was on hard. We didn’t want to go that long, but we had to stay outside, the rain was coming, it was difficult to understand the situation. I had some graining and it took a while to get through that stage, but it was still very difficult to ride,” Verstappen explained as he recounted his race.
“Then it started to rain, more and more and we made the call to mount the intermediates. The track was very slippery, when you’re leading with a good lead you don’t want to push too much, but at the same time you don’t want to lose too much time, it wasn’t easy. I hit the walls a couple of times, but that’s Monaco”, added the Dutchman, who from the moment of the stop onwards tried to keep his pace under control, avoiding making mistakes that could have jeopardized his second victory in the Principality.
One episode caused some concern, a light touch against the wall at the exit of the second chicane delle Piscine which, however, did not cause any particular damage to the car, allowing it to continue to the finish line without problems: “I blocked the rear , I tried to manage by drifting, but luckily I didn’t hit the wall hard,” explained the two-time world champion.
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