F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Verstappen concerned after fourth-place practice finish, Hamilton enjoys best day in ‘two years’
- Hometown favourite Charles Leclerc finishes opening practice in first, with Hamilton second
- Fourth-place Verstappen says he is struggling and does not expect much improvement
Max Verstappen conceded that he is struggling with his Red Bull car and did not envisage any improvement with set-up changes after winding up fourth in Friday’s opening practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion and standings leader said he could not describe the difficulties he faced in a car that “jumped like a kangaroo” as he struggled more than half a second off the pace set by Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari.
“I don’t think I can describe what is actually going on,” he said. “It’s just very difficult. It’s not something that I didn’t expect, but it’s definitely at the higher end – the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far.
“There’s a lot of bumps and kerbs and camber changes as well on the track and that’s basically impossible to take every time that we go over it.
“There’s a lot of lap time lost just because the car doesn’t ride it well. That is definitely hampering us at the moment to go faster. There’s also no real clear direction or solution for the weekend to try and solve something like that.”
Leclerc was in imperious form to finish fastest ahead of revitalised seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, his future Ferrari teammate, and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.