Horner gives damning three-word verdict as verstappen faces monaco gp nightmare

Max Verstappen went into this weekend with a chance to create F1 history with a ninth successive pole position, but the Dutchman could only put his car in P6 after crashing on his final Q3

lap. Sergio Perez's Saturday was even more frustrating. For the second year in succession, the 34-year-old was eliminated in Q1 with a messy lap condemning him to a P18 starting grid

slot. Dressing down Red Bull's worrying qualifying performance, Christian Horner told _Sky Sports F1_: "It's been a struggle all weekend. The car hasn't suited the

characteristics of this circuit. "Up until that last run, anything between second and sixth was on but unfortunately we didn't get that last run in. The first sector was strong for

us. It was mainly the tight hairpin, then Turn Five and Turn 10. "The race is pretty much done barring safety cars. But we will come back fighting. Our race pace has been pretty good

but whether we can demonstrate that, I'm not sure depending on how the traffic plays out." Verstappen was also feeling downbeat when asked about his chances of springing an upset

from sixth on the grid on race day. The Dutchman has been on the podium of every race he has finished this season, but that streak is unlikely to continue here. "If it's a

straightforward race, there's not much you can do," he admitted after qualifying. "The cars are so wide and so big, that you can't pass. "We will try to stick with

them. We don't have the fastest car. It's not like we qualified out of position, so there's not a pace advantage we can use. We will see what happens." While Red Bull and

Verstappen struggled, there was jubilation for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. The home hero secured his third career podium around the streets of Monte Carlo after dominating the weekend from

the very offset in FP1.