Before the Monaco race

Verstappen: “We’re not expecting any miracles”

Max Verstappen is not very optimistic about the race.(Bild: AP)

After a botched qualifying session, Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen is going into the Monaco Grand Prix with modest expectations. "Things can happen in Monaco that you don't expect and you should never say never, but we're not expecting any miracles," said the Red Bull driver after failing to finish higher than sixth. The grid position for Sunday's race (15:00) is extremely important because overtaking is extremely difficult in the Principality.

"It was generally not a good weekend for the team. We tried a lot of changes over the last few days, but nothing helped to improve the car's performance," said the Dutchman. Team-mate Sergio Pérez had even more problems, only finishing 18th and thus falling far short of his own expectations.

Leclerc "very, very satisfied"
While the world champion racing team cannot get the cars set up properly, championship runner-up Charles Leclerc can hope for his first victory in almost two years. The Monegasque will start the race from the front and could win for the first time ever in his home country. "I'm very, very happy with the car and it's been a really good weekend so far. But we shouldn't be blinded by the pole position," said the 26-year-old and formulated the triumph on the Côte d'Azur as a clear goal: "Whatever happens, we have to bring it home."