“I was on the edge of my seat every lap,” a cynical Max Verstappen sneered after the Monaco Grand Prix. The Dutchman was far from impressed with the new format that was supposed to make the race more exciting. Inspired by Mario Kart, he jokingly suggests an alternative for the street race.
To make the typically dull procession of the Monaco Grand Prix more thrilling, a new rule was introduced this year: drivers had to make two pit stops. However, the order at the top remained unchanged: Max Verstappen finished exactly where he started, in fourth place, behind Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri.
Throwing Bananas
Verstappen opted for a different strategy. Unlike the three drivers ahead of him, who started on the medium compound, the Dutchman started on the hard tire. He delayed both pit stops and only dived into the pits for the second time in the final lap. He was gambling on a red flag situation, which could have given him a ‘free’ stop. However, the red flag did not appear, forcing him to relinquish his lead and ultimately settle for P4. “Whether you make one stop or ten: you can’t really race here anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what you do,” Verstappen claimed to Sky Sports. “Even at the end, when I was leading and my tires were completely worn out, no one could pass me. I think with the current Formula 1 cars, you might struggle to overtake a Formula 2 car.”
The Red Bull driver understands the thinking behind the new rule. “But I don’t think it really worked. We were almost playing Mario Kart or something, but then we need to add extra things to the cars. I don’t know, maybe we can throw bananas or something.”
