Slightly smaller cars, different characteristics: but still, according to Max Verstappen, overtaking with these new Formula 1 cars will be just as difficult as before. He also expects, as he predicted in Canada, that the bumps and kerbs on the circuit will cause him problems.
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In Montreal, Verstappen already expressed his concerns about the bumps in Monaco and their effect on the car’s performance. These concerns have not been alleviated in the meantime, he states when asked: “My expectation is still the same.”
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He continues: “Here you have to be good in the slow corners, but you also have to be good over the kerbs, the bumps. Our slow corners are okay, but those other things are precisely where I think we are not yet completely optimal. And that simply makes a difference in your lap time.”
Overtaking
Perhaps with the new cars – slightly smaller – it will be easier to overtake on the narrow street circuit in the principality? Unfortunately, just like Nico Hülkenberg, among others, Verstappen does not think it will be different from previous years.
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“We will be able to see a bit better from the car, because with small tires you can see a bit more. On the other hand, the driveability (the way of driving, ed.) is a bit more difficult than last year. And overtaking has always been difficult here in Formula 1. But it’s also not possible in Formula 2, Formula 3, or a Porsche Cup car.”
Nevertheless, Verstappen has shown several times that it is possible when he worked his way up the field. “But that was because you were two or three seconds faster than others. And because you started somewhere at the back.”
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