Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen claimed an emphatic victory on Sunday at the Monaco Grand Prix to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 39 points, with team-mate Sergio Perez having endured a woeful afternoon.
Verstappen’s win rounded off what was perhaps his greatest ever weekend performance, with his win having come largely due to his mesmerising lap in Q3 on Saturday.
The two-time World Champion found three tenths in the final sector to pip Fernando Alonso to pole, with the Spaniard having also finished in second behind the Dutchman on Sunday.
Verstappen’s win will have likely delighted his father, ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen who was frustrated with Red Bull after last season’s race at the Circuit de Monaco.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Jos was disappointed with Red Bull for having not helped his son defeat Perez, who claimed a famous win 12 months ago.
“Red Bull achieved a good result, but at the same time exerted little influence to help Max to the front,” Jos wrote in his column on his son’s website.
“That he finished third, he owes to Ferrari’s mistake at that second stop of Charles Leclerc.
“The championship leader, Max, was not helped in that sense by the chosen strategy. It turned completely to Checo’s favour [Perez].
“That was disappointing to me, and I would have liked it to be different for the championship leader. I would have liked them to go for Max, but of course I am not entirely objective. I think 10 points from Max have been thrown away here.”
With Perez having finished P16 on Sunday, Verstappen’s father will likely be much happier, given that the 25-year-old could now miss a race and still maintain the lead of the championship.
Verstappen’s win was also his 39th for Red Bull, eclipsing Sebastian Vettel’s 38 wins for the Milton Keynes-based team.
READ: Sergio Perez wants Lance Stroll to be penalised
As mentioned, a lot of the Dutchman’s win came thanks to his incredible lap in Q3 on Saturday, where he “gave it everything”.
“We knew this was going to be little bit of a struggle for us this weekend to get everything together, in qualifying you need to go all out…” Verstappen said on Saturday after claiming pole.
“I gave it everything, clipped a few barriers, but you have to be on pole here.”