Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has warned that things “could look different” for the team at this weekend’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix after storming to victory at Imola last time out.
Max Verstappen dominated proceedings in Italy to take his second win of the season, leaving the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris floundering in his wake.
Much of Verstappen’s triumph was put down to the upgrades the team brought to its tricky RB21, as well as its ability to perform better on tracks with higher-speed corners.
“The car is now doing what Max wants again,” Marko told OE24. “That’s down to the updates, which have thankfully worked.”
However, Monaco is, of course, a different animal in many respects, and Marko was quick to point out that a repeat of Imola is not guaranteed, and may even be highly unlikely.
“That was just Imola, things could look very different again at the next Grand Prix,” he said, adding Monaco is “a completely different circuit with only slow corners.”
Marko concluded: “Things could be a lot worse there” for Verstappen.
Verstappen predicts Monaco could be another tricky affair for Red Bull
Red Bull found Monaco a tricky circuit to negotiate last year, with Verstappen coming home in sixth place, 13 seconds down on winner Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen told media, including Motorsport Week, after his Imola triumph that the principality will likely prove to be a tricky race, echoing Marko’s caution.
“Monaco is, of course, very, very different [from Imola]. So, let’s see how we are going to perform there,” he said. “Last year was very difficult for us. I don’t expect it to be a lot easier this time around because there’s, of course, a lot of low speed, but we’ll see.
“I mean, it’s just one race on the calendar, where you try to do the best you can. Even after that, there’s a lot of races left, but, of course, you can clearly see that once we go to high-speed tracks and corners, then we are more competitive.”
What does the betting say?
As the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix approaches, the top UK bookmakers are indicating a tightly contested race. Oscar Piastri leads the odds at 3.00, with both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen closely trailing at 3.50.
Qualifying vs race results
Monaco’s circuit is notorious for being a boring race due to a lack of overtaking opportunities. This situation begets favourable circumstances for any shrewd punter, who bets on the outcome, based on the starting grid setup.
Analysing data from recent years:
- 2024: Leclerc secured pole position and maintained it to win the race. The top three qualifiers – Leclerc, Piastri, and Sainz finished in the same order. Verstappen qualified 6th and finished 6th.
- 2023: Verstappen started and finished first. Alonso qualified 2nd and finished 2nd. Leclerc qualified 3rd, but Ocon finished 3rd.
- 2022: Leclerc took pole but finished 4th. Perez, who qualified 3rd, won the race. Verstappen moved from 4th in qualifying to 3rd in the race.
- 2021: Leclerc’s pole position did not translate to a race start due to a crash. Verstappen, starting 2nd, won the race.
- 2019: Hamilton converted his pole position into a win. Verstappen, starting 3rd, finished 4th.
The patterns are there and any seasoned F1 enjoyer has surely seen them.
Monaco GP, is it time for a change?
While iconic, the street track faces scrutiny from fans, team principles and drivers alike. Christian Horner has emphasized the need for circuit adaptations to ensure the event’s long-term viability, stressing that overtakes are currently ‘virtually impossible’, while Verstappen felt like dozing off during the 2024 race, due to lack of action. Going forward, are rule changes regarding tyres going to be enough, or should circuit modifications such as widening of the track or expansion into different corners of the city necessary?
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