Verstappen sets all his sights on qualifying: 'That is so important'

Max Verstappen has only won once in Monaco and next weekend he hopes to add a second victory to that. The Red Bull Racing driver is looking forward to this weekend and especially hopes for a good qualifying session. After all, pole position is vital on the narrow streets of Monaco.

Actually, Verstappen was supposed to be in action at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, but Formula 1 decided to cancel it due to the extreme weather conditions and associated flooding. "I am excited to get back to racing this week. Not racing in Imola was the right decision and I know it was not taken lightly but some things are obviously more important than racing and this was one of those occasions."

World Championship leader Verstappen knows he has to peak in Monaco especially in qualifying knowing that overtaking a day later is quite difficult. "Looking ahead to Monaco, qualifying is so important there so we need to make sure we are as strong as we can be in that session. The race is usually heavily dependent on the strategy as overtaking is almost impossible."

Walls are close

The Monaco-based Dutchman needs to excel on Saturday, and that is tricky enough. Not only does Verstappen have to be lucky that yellow and red flags stay away, but a mistake is easy to make. "The circuit in Monaco is super tight, even more than other street circuits. So, nailing a quali lap here is extremely difficult but at the same time very exciting," he concluded in Red Bull's press release.