Formula 1: Ferstappen finds no solutions to his problems in Monaco

Max Ferstappen struggled a lot handling the soft rubber on Friday – particularly with overheating – and between the first two free practice sessions yesterday, RBR tried a different direction in setting up the champion car.

That direction turned out to be wrong, so the Dutchman and Milton Keynes’ team looked for other solutions for today’s third free test. However, those moves were successful as Max was 4 tenths away from his rival Sergio Perez and Leclerc who scored the first two years.

“If we find a better balance, we can be more aggressive in the corners and then of course our times will be better.”said Ferstappen yesterday. “Compared to Ferrari we clearly need to find more speed so now it’s a matter of adjustment and balance. The track has a different feel this year, the cars are a bit heavier and slower and they have more spring because they’re narrower.

On the contrary, Perez said so yesterday “We seem to be a little behind Ferrari, we expected there would be a difference but not that much”but today – in the first year – the Mexican seemed to be much more efficient in his driving measures with his own RB18.

RBR consultant Helmut Marco emphasized on Ferstappen’s problems in the principality: “Right now we’re way behind Leclerc on a lap in terms of speed. In the laps we were a lot better with the middle eraser, so we have to find the balance now. Max and I deliberately tried a different setting, but it didn’t work the desired direction..

“In the first corner we mainly struggled with a reversal, but also with a reversal afterwards. After the first tests, the balance of the car disappeared. And the changes we’ve made clearly haven’t improved it. It is mainly located in the first part of the route “concluded the Austrian.