Max Verstappen says debris that resulted in a radiator change was the reason behind his disrupted programme in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Verstappen, runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the opening session, amassed only 17 laps in the 90-minute session, compared to 54 for most productive driver Kevin Magnussen.
Verstappen was able to classify only sixth in the session as he trailed team-mate Pierre Gasly and also dropped behind Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon.
“Some debris flew in the airbox and the radiator and we had to replace it,” said Verstappen.
“Before then it was alright. I think that Mercedes is just a bit too quick. We should definitely fill up the gap between second and third.
“In general [the balance] was alright. You try different things in practice, some work and some don’t so that’s alright.”
Gasly, fourth in the second session, commented: “I think it was a good day.
“FP1 was a bit difficult, we made some changes for FP2 and I felt much better in the car so this was positive.
“We can see that we are in the fight with Ferrari, Mercedes is quite a long way ahead of us but we will have to work and see what we can extract on Saturday.
“It was a positive day; just a shame we could not get more running with Max but I think we have more performance to get out of the package.”
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