Max Verstappen Opens Up About Monaco GP Start Issue

Max Verstappen has explained what went wrong at the start of the Monaco GP.

The four-time world champion was forced to pull over to the side of the track after his Red Bull car broke down on the first lap but managed to get going again after a brief stop.

"The warm-up lap wasn't great, and then the qualifying lap was terrible," he told Sky Sports F1. "There was no consistency at all, and then the engine just cut out."

"I just got a little bit of power back after the first corner, and then the engine sound was incredibly loud. I couldn't get full gas, so we just backed off a bit and that was it."

When asked by Crash.net what happened, Verstappen added: "On the launch, normally you find your target RPM, but it was just stagnant. RPM was just fluctuating dramatically. A bit strange."

"As soon as I let go of the clutch, the engine just stalled. And then the sound I heard from the engine when I got power back in Turn 1 was really bad, so I just lifted and brought the car back in."

Verstappen admitted that he was worried about being hit from behind.

"I had no power, so I was driving to the left with a bit of wheel lock, and at high speed, I was just shouting that everyone would turn to the right," he said. "Luckily, everyone reacted beautifully."

He went on to say that it would be harder for him to retire if he were battling for the world championship.

"Of course, if I'm leading the championship, it would be incredibly painful," he said. "But we know everyone wants to finish every single race. I just hope we quickly understand what it is and then we can fix it for the future."

Red Bull have been strong in the last two races in Canada and Monaco, and Verstappen is hoping that it will continue in Barcelona.

"This is a totally different circuit, so it will be a good test to see if we've really made a step forward or not, because it's all about high speed and aerodynamic performance," he said. "So, it will be an interesting weekend."

"We're quick on low-speed circuits with not too many high-speed corners. I know from this season that that's been one of our weak points."

"So I hope with the changes we've made to the car that it's better, but I don't know how much."

Derry is an avid motorsport fan and has been following the Indonesian racing scene for many years and joined Crash.net in 2021 as an Editor for the Indonesian Edition, Derry oversees most of the Indonesian articles on the site.