Max Verstappen reveals the key to winning the F1 2025 Monaco GP for Red Bull will be ensuring they get on top their car ahead of qualifying, something the four-time world champion describes as “important”.
The Dutchman heads into the weekend after a rare triumph at the Emilia Romagna GP by beating both McLaren cars on pace at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy.
Now he looks to make it two consecutive wins as the defending champion is keen to haul himself firmly back into contention against Oscar Piastri, whom he trails by 22 points ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
In fine form once again, the latest father in the Formula 1 paddock will be keen to steal another win from under the noses of the McLarens at the Circuit de Monaco to continue buying his team more time to fix their car.
So, what is the trick to making sure they land that win? Verstappen reveals the key to winning the F1 2025 Monaco GP is for Red Bull to get on top of qualifying, thanks to the value of track position.
“I think it’s just how difficult the track is to master in qualifying, to get the most out of it,” Verstappen told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Also knowing that overtaking is difficult on a Sunday, qualifying is even more important.
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“It’s incredibly narrow, challenging, bumpy. The history, of course, of Monaco in general – this is one of these races that you really want to win. It is very special to be racing here. It’s pretty insane, to be honest.
“But once you stand on the top step on the podium, it’s something where you’re like, ‘That was a great weekend.’ You’re like, ‘Done!’”
Can Verstappen and Red Bull actually win the F1 2025 Monaco GP?
FP1 began with some optimism for the Red Bull racer as he finished second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but notably ahead of McLaren’s Norris and Piastri, the latter finishing fifth overall.
He would probably snap your hands off for that result in qualifying on Saturday, but that momentum from Imola persists throughout the rest of the weekend, could he even go one better?
However, FP2 was a very contrasting picture as the Dutchman could only find his RB21 a lowly 10th on the table and well over half-a-second down on Leclerc‘s time, with Yuki Tsunoda close behind.
That indicates Red Bull are struggling to actually get up to grips with their car so does Verstappen think his team can actually go all of the way by winning the F1 2025 Monaco GP on Sunday, May 25?
“Imola was a very good weekend for us – I say weekend because Friday was not good,” Verstappen added. “We just have to keep understanding our car a bit better, what we want with the set-up.
“This is a very different track. If you look at the season so far, we’ve only really been properly competitive on high-speed corners. Monaco is not a high-speed track. I’m a little more reserved for this weekend.
“Even if you have the best car, to nail it in qualifying around here is very tough. We just have to see what happens tomorrow and work from there.
“I have no idea where we are in the order. Historically, we’ve not been particularly great on street circuits. Hopefully we can change that a bit, but I don’t know.”
