Verstappen names main target as Ferrari and McLaren draw closer

Red Bull no longer seems to have the huge lead it did a few weeks back. McLaren and Ferrari have both made strides, meaning they are now closer to the Austrian racing team. Max Verstappen also sees the improvement of his rivals, he said ahead of the race weekend in Monaco.

McLaren took its first major upgrades into Miami. These turned out well: Lando Norris managed to win the Grand Prix straight away. The Briton also came close in Imola, but this was mainly due to Verstappen's worn tyres. Ferrari also showed a step up in Imola.

Verstappen therefore sees that the competition is improving: "I think it was clear after Miami that it would be closer in Imola, although the weekend in Imola was not our strongest. Monaco is always like that, it will depend on who finds the best performance, who finds the best set-up on the car."

The Dutchman continued: "It's closer together and that's why it's important to try to be at our very best. I know that is not always realistic, but you try to reach a certain point and maybe we have not done that in the last races. Every weekend we try again and try to find the best possible set-up for the car, but you can definitely see it's getting closer together."

This article was written in collaboration with Ben Stevens.