As Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc won the 2024 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, Red Bull star Max Verstappen reportedly said something “painful,” according to Martin Brundle.
Red Bull had a really forgettable weekend as Verstappen struggled to finish even sixth.After his crash with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez was unable to finish even one sector. After qualifying in P16, the 34-year-old put himself in jeopardy.Verstappen also wasn’t really pleased with Red Bull during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. The 26-year-old frequently lamented how difficult it was for his RB20 to handle the curbs at the Circuit de Monte Carlo. But the major incident involving Perez and Magnussen altered the course of the race.
When Magnussen attempted an audacious overtake on the run through Beau Rivage, Perez forced him into the barrier. Because of his better exit from T1, the 31-year-old managed to get his front-left tire ahead of the Mexican’s rear-right tire. However, Magnussen had nowhere to go after Perez left.
The forced tyre change by the field during the red flag interval that ensued altered the course of the race.Leclerc consequently reduced his speed to allow the Ferrari driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The event was less about racing and more about protecting their tires.
During the Monaco GP, Verstappen even said to his engineer over Red Bull’s team radio when stuck behind Mercedes driver George Russell, “This is really boring.” I should have remembered to pack my pillow. Although Brundle agreed with Verstappen’s viewpoint, he considered his remarks to Gianpiero Lambiase to be “painful.
Brundle said to Sky Sports, “Lewis Hamilton said it was one of the worst races he’s driven in.” And it hurt to hear Max Verstappen say that he wished he had a pillow to sleep on during the race.
The amazing irony of this situation is that those two drivers were winning races and titles by a country mile, and they didn’t give a damn while we watched. However, they were correct—it was, to put it mildly, dull.
The slow pace of George Russell and Charles Leclerc was brought on by F1 and the FIA’s red flag regulations.
The FIA and F1 regulations permitting teams to make modifications to their cars during red flag conditions are to blame for the “lacklustre” Monaco Grand Prix that left Verstappen and Brundle uninterested on Sunday. The race might have been more exciting if drivers had to restart on the tires they were originally using.
Rather, Leclerc maintained as slow a pace as he could to ensure that Lando Norris did not have a significant lead over Russell in P5, which would have allowed McLaren to pit the 24-year-old and put pressure on Ferrari and Carlos Sainz in P3. In order to maintain sufficient air in his tires, Russell was also tending to them.
Leclerc and Russell would not have been mending their tires to such an extent if it hadn’t been for the red flag time that was required to fix the barriers that were damaged in the incident involving Magnussen and Perez. However, Leclerc and Russell took the necessary actions to avoid another stop, considering the complimentary pit stops.
