Max Verstappen has admitted that Red Bull “overdid it a little bit” with set-up changes between first and second practice at the Monaco Grand Prix, after the reigning World Champion fell down the timesheets.
Verstappen started the weekend with a P2 result in FP1 – just 0.163s away from pace-setting Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc – but could only post the 10th-fastest time during FP2, with the RB21’s balance taking a turn for the worse.
“I think FP1 was quite positive, but then we made some changes for FP2 to see how far basically we could push the balance,” said Verstappen, who finished more than seven-tenths off the benchmark time – again posted by Leclerc.
“I think we just overdid it a little bit, so then I just couldn’t really attack the corners anymore how I would like, then you’re just shedding a lot of pace and the lap time was basically not coming out of it.”
Verstappen was only 10th on the timesheets during second practice in Monaco
As for how he thinks the weekend will pan out, the Dutchman pointed to Ferrari’s similarly impressive pace a year on from Leclerc’s pole position and victory double in the Principality, adding: “I don’t expect us to be the quickest.
“We want to be of course a lot closer than what we were in FP2… I’m also quite confident that we can be a lot closer, but Ferrari again looks very, very fast.
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“The McLarens were quite close behind, but if you see over the whole season the pace, I think Ferrari again took a big step forward here.”
On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Yuki Tsunoda was a mere 0.004s slower than Verstappen in second practice en route to P11, but rued a day compromised by traffic.
Tsunoda trailed team mate Verstappen by four thousandths of a second
“I mean, as usual, a bit of a traffic story here,” said the Japanese racer. “I think it’s the same as everyone, it’s all up to almost like luck to get a lap. In FP1 I didn’t have any laps, fortunately I had a bit more laps in FP2.
“It was alright. I think at least [I was] able to read the kind of limitations from the soft [tyres], but it’s kind of similar still the limitations to what I had in FP1. I just don’t feel much step from the soft in terms of grip, so that’s what I’m struggling with a little bit.”
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Offering some thoughts on the weekend ahead, as he looks to bounce back from his Qualifying crash in Imola a week ago, Tsunoda commented: “I mean, it’s getting there. At least it went better, a step from FP1, but I need a couple of bits more from the car.
“I need a couple of tenths more. I’m sure there’s a bit of potential there, so I’ll try to squeeze that out myself. I’ll just keep [doing] what I’m doing, build up the pace and hopefully I can put it all together in Qualifying.”
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