In Imola Max Verstappen was still the big winner, but on Monaco Friday the Dutch and Red Bull land on the ground of the facts: After Verstappen is still second behind Charles Lecler in the first training session, the second session is only tenth in the second session-with more than seven tenth behind the Ferrari star.
“The first training was good, we were there,” analyzed Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com: “In the second training session, however, we made changes that did not bring about what we had hoped for,” explains the Austrian that the coordination was no longer so well: “A lot of understeering, that doesn’t suit Max”-and also not a close route …
The world champion himself explains with a view to the afternoon in the principality: “We then tried something on the set -up to see how far we can push the balance – we have probably shot something over the goal,” says Verstappen: “I could no longer attack the curves as I wanted – so you just lose a lot of time without a reasonable lap time.”
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With a view to the balance of power in Monaco, he says: “I do not expect that we are the fastest here, but of course we want to be closer than in the second training session. But I am confident that we can increase significantly.”
However, Verstappen also noticed: “Ferrari looks extremely strong. McLaren is not far away either, but if you look at the pace so far this season, Ferrari has taken a big step here.”
Marko shares the assessment of his protégé: “Overall, Ferrari is a favorite here,” believes the Austrian: “Leclerc is always quick here. And the vehicle height with which you usually drive makes you so much difference for you-you are usually on the go, which gives you advantages,” explains the Red Bull consultant with a view of Ferraris “relatively soft set-up”.
But Red Bull also “significantly improved” the performance over the edges. And Marko also draws hope for the weekend from two other observations: “The Longrun, a 1: 13.9 in the last round, was positive, that was very strong.” With a view to the World Cup fight, he also adds: “I think we can stand in front of McLaren – that is our goal.” Marko explains the confidence in the duel with the Papaya team: “Because we know how much time we lose from undermining.”
For this reason, the team will go back to the first training session when it comes to voting: “The aim is to eliminate the understeer and to meet the optimal window,” says Marko, who still sees “quite freedom for corrections”: “As I said: We are often not where we should be on Friday.”
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“At Sky, however, the Red Bull consultant reveals what the engineers are now asked in order to create the turnaround until qualifying: “We have to find a compromise that eliminates the understeer but does not go beyond the goal,” demands Marko, because the performance in the second training session has shown: “If you go too far or leave the window, you are immediately away from the pace.”
Verstappen teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who has something to struggle with the balance at the start in Monaco and is also slowed down by traffic, has the same problems as his stable companion in the second session, but at least arranged himself as eleventh, with only four thousand standing behind.
From Marko there is praise: “Well, no mistakes. He was quickly in the racing Bull last year,” recalls the Austrian and is satisfied: “Positive trend, he continues to develop.” Especially since Tsunoda is on the road again in Monaco with an older specification of the RB21 “because we don’t have enough spare parts”, as Marko reveals.
However, team boss Christian Horner also puzzles whether the upgrades at number 1 pilot Verstappen pay themselves as much as the triumph in Imola, before the appearance in Monte Carlo: “As so often, it is not a single factor, no miracle solution that worked,” he explains on Friday in the Principality.
The Briton reveals the simple formula of success that made Verstappen so much performing last weekend: “Less sliding means less tire temperature, that makes everything more controllable,” says Horner: “The team did a great job, brought good components, the car well coordinated, the maximum out.” Whether the latter is repeatable in Monaco is still in the stars after Friday …