Verstappen was faster at Monaco. It didn't matter.

Red Bull had the pace to win. They stopped twice anyway.

Max Verstappen was six tenths faster per lap than Charles Leclerc at Monaco. He finished 14 seconds behind him in sixth place. Red Bull stopped twice at the one track where overtaking is impossible.

Key Finding

Verstappen was six tenths faster per lap than Leclerc and finished 14 seconds behind him.

Red Bull chose the complicated route

VER vs LEC — tyre strategy across 78 laps

Everyone else committed to one stop after the lap-1 red flag. Verstappen ran three stints.

VER: H→M→H | LEC: M→H

Key Finding

Verstappen was six tenths faster per lap than Leclerc and finished 14 seconds behind him.

The lap-1 red flag gave every team a free tyre change and reset the race. Everyone ran to the end on hards — except Verstappen, who took mediums. That committed Red Bull to a second stop on lap 52, with 26 laps remaining.

At Monaco, track position is everything. Verstappen was faster than the car ahead. It made no difference. He couldn't pass.

The gap never closed

VER vs LEC — gap between them on every lap

After Verstappen's lap-52 stop, the gap to Leclerc ballooned to 39 seconds. He clawed back half of it — but only because he was faster, not closer.

VER aheadLEC ahead

Final gap: LEC ahead by 13.8s.

Key Finding

Verstappen was six tenths faster per lap than Leclerc and finished 14 seconds behind him.

Red Bull will argue the mediums gave Verstappen better pace in the middle stint. They did — he averaged 79.8 seconds per lap on mediums versus Leclerc's 78.4 on hards. But you don't optimise lap times at Monaco. You optimise track position.

The two-stop worked in practice. It failed in the race. Verstappen started sixth and finished sixth, half a second faster per lap than the winner.

The car had the speed

VER (Lap 58) vs LEC (Lap 71) — fastest laps compared

Verstappen's fastest lap on lap 58 shows higher apex speeds and better traction out of slow corners — he had the pace to win.

VER (Lap 58)LEC (Lap 71)

Fastest laps: VER Lap 58, LEC Lap 71.

Key Finding

Verstappen was six tenths faster per lap than Leclerc and finished 14 seconds behind him.

At Canada, Red Bull will need to remember what they forgot at Monaco: strategy is about finishing ahead, not going faster. If Verstappen qualifies in traffic again, one stop is the only answer — even if the tyres aren't optimal.

Jamie Carver

@@jamiecarver_f1

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