Verstappen: 'Barcelona podium bodes well for Monaco'

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, celebrates on the podium after the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix

Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull's performance in the Spanish Grand Prix is an indication of good things to come for the team in Monaco.

Verstappen was able to improve from fifth place on the grid to finish on the podium in Barcelona, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

It was a welcome success for the Dutch driver, who had been under fire for mistakes in recent races.

"[Spain] has been a nice turning point after the first few races where it hasn't gone to plan," he admitted. "To come back and get on the podium [was] really nice."

He said that the RB14 had behaved well throughout the race on both medium and soft tyres, and that the handling had given him confidence moving forward.

"Our car was very strong in the last sector there, which is mainly low speed corners and what we need for Monaco."

Monaco is one of the few circuits on the calendar where the power performance of the Renault engine wil be less of a handicap to Red Bull on race day.

Jos Verstappen: 'Max really needed that podium'

"Monaco doesn’t have any long straights, so I think it should be a good circuit for us," he said.

Verstappen was among the drivers to stay on in Spain to take part in the in-season test session. He was the fastest man on track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday, which had helped further lift his spirits.

"I also had a really positive test in Barcelona this week," he said. "And I hope for a good weekend in Monaco if we can find the right set-up.

"We will concentrate on the setup, get a good balance and hopefully put ourselves in with a real chance.

While the Monaco Grand Prix isn't a 'home' race for Verstappen in the traditional sense, it is in a pratical once since it's where he has his own residence.

"It is a nice weekend in general and also very good to sleep in your own apartment," he admitted.

"I’s a busy week but also a special week.

"The track is of course very challenging but I will enjoy it even more knowing that we have a chance of a good result."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.