Verstappen shows no pity: "That should have been my spot anyway"

Max Verstappen reflects on last season in an interview with David Coulthard for CarNext.com. In the interview Verstappen admitted earlier that he was relieved after winning Zandvoort, but now he said that he can also be satisfied with the long-awaited victory in Monaco.

The Dutchman has been driving in Formula 1 since 2015, yet in all those years he had not managed to get on the podium in Monaco. Still, it wasn't surprising, as the Red Bull Racing driver knew that it was usually his own fault. At the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, the 24-year-old finally secured the long-awaited victory, despite it not being an easy weekend.

Verstappen was on course to take pole position, but then had to abort his lap due to a red flag. Charles Leclerc hit the wall while he had pole position and that meant the end of qualifying. In the end, Leclerc was unable to start the Grand Prix due to the amount of damage and the Dutchman was allowed to start from first place, which he felt was right: "I also had a bit of a feeling of 'that should have been my spot anyway looking at the lap I was doing'."

Relief and happiness

After the race he was relieved, because not only had he finally sealed that victory, but he was also finally allowed to let go of his focus. The Dutchman explained that you have to constantly pay attention during the Monaco Grand Prix because the circuit is so narrow. Other street circuits have run-off areas or there are moments where you can take a break, but that's not the case in Monaco. "It's a very challenging race!"

Despite Monaco not always being kind to him, he is pleased to have finally been able to get a win there. When Coulthard then asks Jos Verstappen about his experiences in Monaco, Verstappen senior admits that he hasn't had much luck at that circuit either. "Monaco was not friendly to the family until this year," Verstappen concluded.