Max Verstappen showcased his remarkable driving skills as he navigated treacherous conditions in the rain during the Monaco Grand Prix, even to the surprise of his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Verstappen admitted that Lambiase questioned his decision not to slow down as he teetered on the edge of losing control of his RB19 on multiple occasions.
The Red Bull driver had built a comfortable lead over Fernando Alonso while running on worn medium Pirelli tires when light rain started to fall on lap 51. As the rain intensified, Verstappen finally made his first pit stop to switch to intermediate tires.
The wet conditions on the tight and twisty street circuit caused several drivers to brush against the barriers, including Verstappen, who had a hard collision at Portier. Even his engineer asked why he wasn’t slowing down.
Verstappen explained his approach in the post-race press conference, saying, “When you’re in a rhythm, it’s better to stay in that. I only clipped the barrier once out of 16 attempts. I thought I had a bit more margin, but I misjudged it. However, it was fine.”
He further elaborated, “It’s better to be in a rhythm and feel good than to slow down and be out of your comfort zone. Slowing down would also make the tires colder, which is not ideal. I wasn’t overdriving, just in my own zone.”
Despite the close calls, Verstappen went on to win the race comfortably, finishing 28 seconds ahead of Alonso and securing his fourth victory of the season.
There was a moment when Alonso managed to close the gap on Verstappen, reducing the lead by five seconds in the first five laps after switching to intermediates. Verstappen attributed this to his cautious approach in establishing his rhythm.
He explained, “I had a big lead, and I didn’t want to risk matching or exceeding the same pace and end up in the wall. I had to be a bit more careful, find the right balance between taking risks and not driving too slowly. Having Lando Norris close behind also motivated me to speed up.”
Verstappen’s victory extended his lead over his teammate Sergio Perez to 39 points in the battle for the World title. His exceptional performance in challenging conditions further solidified his reputation as a formidable driver capable of handling any situation on the track.
