Max Verstappen has confirmed he will race Renault’s B-spec power unit at next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The French manufacturer initially wanted to introduce the upgrade, which is worth three engine development tokens, in Montreal but positive feedback in the Barcelona post-race test led Renault to push and have it ready for Monaco.
However, due to the tight schedule, the engine supplier could only bring one updated power unit to each Renault-powered team - its works squad as well as its customer outfit Red Bull. Both teams gave the evolution to the highest-placed driver in the championship, namely Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo.
“I’m finally getting the new [Renault] engine so I’m definitely looking forward to that,” Verstappen said. “You have a bit more horsepower and better driveability so all in all it will give you some laptime.”
From the highs of his Red Bull promotion and stunning maiden F1 win in Spain, Verstappen experienced a rollercoaster of a weekend in Monte Carlo, crashing in both qualifying and the race while also overtaking many cars early on during the grand prix.
“I think the beginning of the race was very good, we showed great pace – sometimes the fastest lap around – and I think it was all coming together very well,” the 18-year-old added.
“We got back into the points and then unfortunately, when we fitted the soft tyres, I made a mistake and hit the wall. That is not how you want to end the weekend, especially when your team does a great job to rebuild the car after qualifying. They deserved much more.
“Now, it is to analyse how and what went wrong and why we got into this situation. It is all part of the learning curve and again getting more experience.”
Renault and Red Bull announced in Monaco a two-year extension of their engine partnership, with junior team Toro Rosso switching back to Renault power as well.
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