Max Verstappen dominated in Imola to secure his second race victory of the year, sparking hopes of a potential championship charge from the Red Bull driver.
The team brought upgrades to the RB21, which allowed the car to move further towards the Dutchman’s preference, and after taking the lead with a daring move into turn one, they always looked comfortable at the front.
As the F1 circus arrives in Monaco, the four-time world champion will be hoping to repeat the feat in the principality and bite further into Oscar Piastri’s championship lead.
However, Helmut Marko has warned fans of Verstappen not to get their hopes up.
Helmut Marko’s Monaco fear
The Red Bull advisor cited the unique nature of the track as to why the team may struggle in Monaco.
“That was just Imola, things could look very different again at the next Grand Prix,” Marko cautioned to OE24.
“It’s a completely different circuit with only slow corners.
As such, Marko warns Verstappen that: “Things could be a lot worse there.”
“Max proved once again with his manoeuvre at the start that he is the best: only he can recognise the gap and then exploit it,” Marko insisted.
Can Max Verstappen mount a championship challenge?
Further proving his credentials as one of the sport’s generational drivers, Verstappen has wrestled his way into a potential title fight despite having to compete with the superior McLarens.
The world champion sits 22 points behind Piastri, who leads the standings, and only trails second place Lando Norris by nine.
| Standing | Driver | Points |
| 1st | Oscar Piastri | 146 |
| 2nd | Lando Norris | 133 |
| 3rd | Max Verstappen | 124 |
| 4th | George Russell | 99 |
Last season showed that Verstappen doesn’t need the fastest car to win the world championship, and with the spotlight intensely shining upon Piastri and Norris to deliver, the Dutchman could easily take advantage of the situation.
At the end of the day, the main factor that will determine Verstappen’s ability to defend his championship is Red Bull’s car development.
Christian Horner has described McLaren’s advantage as strange throughout the season, but that could also soon change.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur believes McLaren could be hurt by a technical directive in Spain, targeted at reducing flexi-wings.
If the Milton Keynes-based team can edge closer to McLaren, they can trust in their star driver to do the rest.
Monaco could present a turning point in the season – if Verstappen wins once again, we just may have a classic title battle in 2025 after all.
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