Max Verstappen says his pit exit 'was the most fun I had' in the 2022 F1 Monaco GP

Max Verstappen believes he needed to be on the limit at the pit exit of the 2022 F1 Monaco GP, or else he could have been passed by the car behind him. The Dutchman revealed that his pit exit was the only exciting part of the race for him.

Speaking at the post-race drivers’ press conference in Monaco, the Red Bull driver said:

“Yeah, I needed it. I mean, otherwise he would have passed me because you would not have the traction. So, my pit exit was quite... probably that was the most fun I had in the race, just my pit exit, trying to stay ahead. Which summed up a bit my race. I mean, of course, after yesterday, not being able to do that final lap, you know you have to start fourth and you know, your race is going to be a bit compromised. But it's all about just trying to maximise the result and I think, as a team, we did that today.”

Although Ferrari lodged an official protest after the race to investigate the pit exits of both the Red Bull drivers, the FIA stewards rejected their protest.

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Max Verstappen believes Red Bull’s pace was good in Monaco

While his overall race was fairly bland, the Dutchman believes his car had the pace to compete with the Ferraris. Max Verstappen felt that he could have passed Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez had it not been for the Monaco circuit, where overtaking can be difficult.

Describing his race, the Red Bull driver spoke at the press conference, saying:

“We had good pace. I mean, all the laps I had in clean air, they felt right. And then the call to go with the Medium at the end was quite risky, I think, compared to just staying on a hard tyre. Especially also because I think we didn't really know how many laps were going to be left. But I saw that the two cars in front of me started to grain a bit. Checo [Sergio Perez] has quite a lot of front graining and Carlos [Sainz] was struggling a bit with the rear. And yeah, from my side. I mean, it's just impossible to pass. But my balance felt all right, and I could actually be really close. If I wanted to, I could have bumped Carlos a few times in the hairpin. Maybe he would have liked it.”

Although currently leading the drivers' championship, Max Verstappen is only nine points ahead of Charles Leclerc and 15 points ahead of his teammate Perez. The Dutchman will have to maximize the available opportunities in the next race in Baku to extend his lead over both.