Max Verstappen after a poor Friday: 'There is no direction or solution'

End to Red Bull domination?

Verstappen doesn't know where to find more pace after another difficult Friday. "I don't think I even can describe what is actually going on. It's just very difficult. It's not something that I didn't expect, but it's definitely at the higher end of the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far. It is very difficult. There are a lot of bumps and curves and just camber changes as well in the track. The first is basically impossible to take. Every time that we go over it, we lose a lot of lap time with the car as it doesn't ride as well. That is definitely hampering us at the moment to go faster. And there's also no real clear direction or solution for the weekend to try and solve something like that."

The Dutchman explained that a turnaround like in Imola is probably not going to happen now. ''Imola was completely different. This kind of thing you cannot solve with setup because that's how the car is made and designed. These kinds of things you cannot change overnight. So, we are stuck with that. We're trying to make it a little bit better, but I don't expect any miracles."

Verstappen hit the wall several times during both free practice sessions. "I had a lot of problems driving. It was very difficult. When the car is not really doing what you want around here with all the bumps, it's very easy to have one extra jump and you're already against the walls. I think maybe in that sense, today was a good lesson. Maybe we can find that for tomorrow we know when the car jumps and bounces. I knew that coming into the weekend it was going to be very difficult. And in that way, I'm also not surprised to see Ferrari so quick," the Dutchman said.

Verstappen won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2021 and 2023. Two years ago, victory went to his teammate Sergio Perez. 2019 was the last time a team other than Red Bull won (2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19). Back then, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line first. For now, the three-time world champion does not want to think about the competition. Red Bull seriously needs to start finding some extra speed in order to salvage their weekend.