Red Bull's Marko brutally honest after Verstappen's 'negatively surprising' Monaco qualifying

After qualifying, Helmut Marko reacted in disbelief to the four-time world champion's gap to McLaren, telling De Telegraaf the following: ‘’I'm negatively surprised. After the third free practice, we were optimistic and looked competitive. But the times the front runners set were unreachable for us. The further into the round, the more problems we encountered with the grip level. I think Max did the maximum. That was all we could achieve.’’

Despite the disappointing qualification, Marko sees opportunities for the Dutchman in the race. The Austrian was full of praise for polesitter Lando Norris, who broke the lap record in Monte Carlo. "I was impressed by McLaren, Norris did an excellent job, stayed cool, and delivered. Sunday will be a casino. That suits Monte Carlo well. Strange things can happen now that everyone has to make at least two pit stops."

Earlier tonight, it was announced that Verstappen will start the Monaco Grand Prix from fourth place after Lewis Hamilton was deemed to have impeded him during the session. The former title rivals were both frustrated but had a friendly conversation in the pitlane after the incident to smooth over the stressful moment.

Marko continued, stating that he still has hope for the race tomorrow. ‘’I think there are opportunities, but we can't influence them. When you're leading, you can decide what happens. It depends on the speed McLaren shows in the race and when, for example, there is a safety car situation. In that case, it could happen that the whole field comes in for a stop’’, he concluded.