Jos Verstappen has weighed in on the events of the Monaco Grand Prix after the race was plagued by adverse weather and safety cars. The heavens opened just minutes before the scheduled start at the iconic venue, and drivers were kept waiting for over an hour before things finally got underway, with cars following an FIA vehicle for the first two laps.
The race was red-flagged after 30 laps though, following Mick Schumacher’s crash at the Swimming Pool Chicane which left his Haas car split in two. There following another rolling start, and although it was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who took the win, the three-hour time limit expired before he could complete the allocated 77 laps.
And the narrow make-up of the street circuit has again come under question, with the lack of overtaking seemingly denying fans a thrilling finale. Perez, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were all bunched up late on, but none were able to seriously challenge the car ahead.
And now Verstappen senior, who himself started 106 F1 Grand Prix’s, has taken aim at the FIA. Via his son’s official website, he blasted the initial decision to delay proceedings because of rainfall.
“To be honest I wasn’t left with a good feeling about the race weekend in Monaco. And that’s putting it mildly,” he wrote. “Firstly, I think they should have just started at three o’clock. These days it seems that everyone at race control gets stressed at the first sight of a few drops of rain.
“Sure, it would have been a chaotic start and the teams would have been in doubt as to which tyre would have been the best option. But that is what people want to see. Now they just waited, then it turned out there were also problems with the starting lights. FIA or the organisation, whoever is responsible, should make sure there is a back-up for situations like this and that the equipment is in order.”
And Verstappen, 50, thinks we were ultimated robbed of a competitive race: “Now we get starts behind the safety car, which in my view takes the edge off. Especially on a circuit like Monaco.
“We live in a competitive, professional sport. Things like this cannot happen.” It remains to be seen whether F1 will return to the same circuit next year, with The Automobile Club de Monaco still in ongoing discussions with authorities over a new contract.
