Max Verstappen dismisses F1 title talk after “big struggle” in Monaco

Max Verstappen is refusing to think about this year’s F1 world championship, adopting the approach of taking it “race by race” following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Verstappen finished fourth in Sunday’s race in Monte Carlo, 20.5s behind race winner Lando Norris.

The Dutchman led the race until the end of Lap 77 before making his second mandatory pit stop.

Red Bull’s low-speed corner weakness meant that Verstappen could not challenge McLaren or Ferrari in qualifying.

Red Bull then went long with Verstappen, keeping him out until the end of the penultimate lap in case of a red flag or Safety Car.

Verstappen is now 25 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The Barcelona circuit will likely suit Red Bull, given its lack of low-speed corners.

When asked about the title race, Verstappen dismissed any talk about it after Monaco.

“Well, honestly, I don’t really think about the championship. I just want to go race by race,” Verstappen said as quoted by RN365.

“Of course, some tracks, you might be a bit more competitive, and some you will struggle a bit more. And I think it was clear that, again, in Monaco, we struggled.

“But honestly, every year we have struggled here with this new generation of cars. Only in ’23 we had a massive pace advantage, and then you still win the race. But all the other years for me, personally, have always been a big struggle.”

Verstappen: “We know our limitations”

While Verstappen isn’t usually happy to miss out on a podium, he felt Red Bull extracted the most from their package given their current “limitations”.

Red Bull have excelled at tracks made up of high-speed corners, taking wins in Japan and Imola.

“I think considering our pace the whole weekend, we did a good job,” Verstappen added.

“But yeah, I think as a team, of course, we’re never happy with P4. But we also have to accept [it] when we know our limitations with the car.”