F1 News
Verstappen upbeat despite P4: "I had a fun race"
Despite finishing fourth and receiving a five-second penalty, Max Verstappen has admitted he had "a fun race" at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix a race won by Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen was running second for much of the race and tried to overtake Hamilton in the closing stages, but was unsuccessful. The Dutchman instead received a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release during an early pitstop under the safety car and finished fourth despite looking like he could win the race.
The Red Bull driver admitted the penalty put a dampener on his race but still had a good time.
"It was a shame to have a penalty but I gave it my all today to get by Lewis," Verstappen said.
"I knew he had softer tyres he was taking it easy after the pitstop so I was pushing him and started attacking him all the time, but out of the tunnel, you can’t get close enough so I tried to put the pressure on.
"In the whole race I was following closely in the dirty air is not easy. I had a fun race and would've liked to have a podium."