Verstappen comes to life after Friday in Monaco: 'Very happy with the car'

On Thursday, Verstappen was able to list quite a few problem areas that he expected would significantly slow Red Bull Racing down this weekend. The bumpy street circuit doesn’t really suit the characteristics of the RB22, which had already been evident in previous editions of the Monaco Grand Prix. The opposite seemed to happen during both sessions, where Verstappen set the third-fastest time twice.

"It was a pretty positive day, to be honest," Verstappen is quoted as saying on his official website. "I felt very good in the car, especially during the second practice we made good progress. Now it’s mainly a matter of fine-tuning a little. Hopefully, we can get as close as possible. I’m very happy with the car, but you’re always looking for more. We’ll see tomorrow."

For a moment, it looked like Verstappen would have to brave second practice alone, as teammate Isack Hadjar had hit the wall hard during the first practice. The car was badly damaged, making it unclear whether he would be able to take part in FP2. Red Bull Racing pulled out all the stops to repair Hadjar’s car, giving him at least 47 minutes of track time at the end of Friday afternoon. As a result, Verstappen wasn’t solely responsible for gathering data.

The Austrian team’s pace may not only have surprised Verstappen himself. Afterward, George Russell mused that he hadn’t quite seen it coming that he would finish behind Verstappen twice. "I think Red Bull has been a bit of a surprise for us as well," Russell said. "We knew that of all the races so far, this would be our biggest challenge. It’s probably been a bit more challenging than we had hoped, but we did make good progress from FP1 to FP2."

It’s clear that no one on Friday could match the Ferraris’ pace, but now that Verstappen has absolutely found the motivation to take the fight to them, he will make a bid for pole position. He was still somewhat skeptical about that on Thursday, but in second practice he came up less than two-tenths short. On Saturday there is one session to dot the i’s, after which qualifying will take place in the Principality.