Max smiles (finally)
Finally a Friday of smiles and confidence for Max Verstappen in this 2026. The four-time world champion finished with the third fastest time of the day in both FP1 and FP2 in Monaco, beaten only by the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, which seem to be the best cars on the narrow streets of the Principality. However, the Dutchman was finally able to express words of appreciation for his RB22 which has been giving him a hard time since the beginning of the year.
Read more McLaren flop, Monaco Friday is a disaster: “We are far off”
“To be honest, it was a pretty positive day – Verstappen acknowledged to the journalists present in Monte Carlo – we felt quite good in the car and it’s particularly important, especially in Monaco, to have a positive feeling with the car. We just need to work on fine-tuning a few things. Ferrari looks really strong, so tomorrow we’ll try to get as close to them as possible. We are happy with where we are right now, but we always try to get the most out of the car, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow in qualifying”.
Read more Monaco FP data – Ferrari strong, Hamilton in form, but watch out for Max
Hadjar’s Crash
On the other hand, a Friday to forget for Isack Hadjar, who was the victim of a bad crash into the barriers in FP1: “The first session was going well. I felt like I was gaining confidence lap after lap, so the crash caught me by surprise – commented the Frenchman – the team did an excellent job getting me back on track for FP2, it was impressive, so a big thank you to them. From that moment on, the plan was to rebuild my confidence and, towards the end, I had a much better feeling with the car. I want to carry this feeling forward tomorrow as well.”.
Read more Hamilton on top: “Ferrari, great job”
