F1 News
Verstappen praises safety of current F1 cars: 'That was a big one'
- Ludo van Denderen
The Monaco Grand Prix was barely underway when the red flag was waved. There were several incidents in the opening phase, after which the race had to be neutralised; the collision involving Magnussen, Perez and Hulkenberg, the clash between the two Alpine drivers and Carlos Sainz's puncture. For the Spaniard, the race seemed over after just a few corners, but he was still allowed to start third again at the restart. Max Verstappen finds that strange.
Race organisers decided to use the original starting grid, as when the red flag went out not all drivers had passed the first measuring point on the track. Sainz, who was stationary with a puncture, was able to take third on the grid after returning to the track. Rightly so? "Well, it depends on how you look at it, of course," said Max Verstappen, who thus saw a position gained disappear again.
"From my side, I probably have a different view. If you are the one that it happens to, you're like, 'well, that's how it should be because not everyone of course crossed, I think, sector one'. I think Zhou was still stuck behind the crashed cars. But at the end of the day, it doesn't change the world. It's more important that the safety of the cars is very good because I think it was quite a big impact with Checo and Kevin. Yeah, luckily they just all jumped out of the car."
Verstappen grants Leclerc victory
With a bit more luck, Verstappen might have finished fifth, but a win was not realistic for a moment. The win in Monaco went to that other Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque won his home GP for the first time. Verstappen granted him that victory. "He drove a really strong weekend. And I think winning your home Grand Prix is probably one of the nicest things that can happen to you. Plus, he had a lot of bad luck, of course, in the last few years here. So, yes, I'm very happy for him."