24/05/2019
NEWS STORY
It's fair to say that while Daniel Ricciardo may well look back twelve months to what was a personal high point, for Max Verstappen, Monaco 2018 was very much a personal low.
Following incidents in a number of previous races, the youngster's frustration was obvious, resulting in some angry run-ins with the media.
Monaco however was even worse, for while teammate Ricciardo took pole and then a hugely popular win, Verstappen, having crashed in final practice, and thereby unable to take part in qualifying, was forced to start from the back of the grid, ultimately finishing ninth.
However, with Helmut Marko's warning that he "had to be more careful" ringing in his ears, Max turned things around dramatically, and while Ricciardo was destined to never visit the podium again in Red Bull colours, the Dutch youngster took two wins and eight further podiums, ending the season fourth overall, 79 points ahead of the Australian.
This season the youngster has continued to impress, and while the aggression is still there, the silly mistakes have all but disappeared, leaving Verstappen as the one possible fly in Mercedes ointment.
Asked on Thursday if he feels Monaco 2018 was a turning point, and that he had matured since then, Verstappen replied: "I think in general, it's life.
"I'm getting older," he added, "general life experience but yes, sometimes you have to make mistakes to become a better driver and so this was one of them."
"If you wind the clock back 12 months it was probably the lowest weekend, last year, of his career," said Christian Horner, "having a car capable of winning and crashing in FP3 and not being able to take part in qualifying. That was very tough for him and I think he went away from that race and he reflected hard on it.
"Since Montreal last year he's really just stepped things up a gear," he continued, "and he's been a phenomenal force whenever he's been in the car.
"The way he started this season has been outstanding. He's overachieved in certain aspects and I think he's got that roundedness of maturity and is very much leading the team development-wise. I think he's enjoying and relishing that role as well.
"So, if you compare Max Verstappen May 23, 2019 to the equivalent time last year he's evolved a tremendous amount and I think that's again the benefit of experience as well."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Monaco, here.