Max Verstappen was satisfied with third on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix after qualifying.
The Dutchman has been consistent again throughout the weekend and Red Bull’s prowess on high downforce circuits enabled him to outpace the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
While accepting Mercedes was probably out of reach, Verstappen did admit that it was the tyres that continue to be the deciding factor.
“Q2 was a very good lap, but also the tyres were switched on. Around here, your tyres, that makes quite a bit of a difference,” he said post-session.
“In Q3, my first run, I went into Turn 1, the rear tyres were still not gripping up for me, so I lost a bit of time there. And from there on, my lap was pretty stable compared to Q2, so it was not bad.
“Then my final run in Q3, I got a bit of traffic on my out-lap and when I started the lap, they just felt cold, the tyres had no grip and I was already two-tenths above it, so I decided to abort.”
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Without the problems, Verstappen does believe the gap to Mercedes would have been reduced.
“I don’t think it’s half a second anyway,” the Red Bull driver stated.
“We know we have some work to do to catch up, but I think as a team we keep pushing very hard to try and do that as soon as possible.”
Verstappen hinted he felt comfortable starting third having “rubbered in” the grid slot with practice starts throughout the weekend.
“We’ll see what’s going to happen, but I’m happy about today. Let’s see what tomorrow brings,” he concluded.
