Could Monaco Be A Problem For Red Bull? Max Verstappen Seems To Think It Could

Formula 1 is in Monaco this weekend for what is one of the crown jewels of the series the Monaco Grand Prix.

Nothing compares to the glitz and glamor and watching cars speed around the tightest, twistiest circuit on the calendar — however, the racing can be a little boring at times — alright, most of the time.

But Monaco is still a different animal than just about any other circuit on the schedule and that's why we sometimes see unusual results. So does that mean Red Bull and Max Verstappen — who have won all but two races this season — could find themselves in a bit of a battle this weekend?

Well, Verstappen himself thinks so.

"I think looking at the track layout it’s probably not going to be our best track, just because our car normally struggles a bit over bumps and kerbs," the three-time champ said.

"We did work on it a bit compared to last year. I think so far on most of the tracks that we’ve been to our low-speed performance has improved a little bit, but I don’t think this is going to be a very easy weekend."

Low-speed performance is the name of the game in Monaco and that hasn't always been a Red Bull strong suit.

This year, other teams are coming into the weekend strong. Ferrari typically performs well at Monaco — with Monagasque driver Charles Leclerc chasing an elusive home win — but it's McLaren that looks like the biggest threat.

Monaco can throw a lot at teams and drivers, which can create problems even for frontrunners like Max Verstappen and Red Bull. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lando Norris won the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month and finished less than a second behind Verstappen at Imola. 

READ: MCLAREN WILL RUN STUNNING SENNA TRIBUTE LIVERY AT MONACO

Monaco is a challenging circuit and a poorly timed red flag can ruin your weekend. Verstappen knows this and said it's those unexpected things that can make or break a team's race.

"But I think Monaco never is very straightforward, even when you’re supposed to have the best car," he said. Monaco is a very tricky track to get everything to work, to get the tyres to work in a quali lap, for example, red flags, there’s always a lot of disruption."

Disruptions like Verstappen talked about are common at Monaco, and all it would take to make their race on Sunday incredibly difficult is a poorly timed red flag on Saturday during qualifying.

Given how other teams are starting to catch up and the unpredictability of Monaco, you can understand why Verstappen feels this weekend may not be the easiest he and Red Bull have had this season.