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Max Verstappen has revealed that Red Bull considered pitting the Dutchman for a second time during the Monaco Grand Prix.
Verstappen was running in second place behind leader Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling on graining tyres. Hamilton held off an attack from Verstappen, who attempted an overtake for the lead late on in the race.
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Verstappen had a five-second time penalty to his name after an unsafe release at his first pit stop, clashing with Valtteri Bottas in the pit lane.
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The post-race penalty dropped Verstappen to fourth place, but the 21-year-old says it wasn't worth giving up the chance at victory for fourth place and an extra point for the fastest lap.
"We had that discussion. I also had a fair chance of getting by and maybe then you win the race,” Verstappen said.
“At the end of the day, that one point? I had a more fun race being in second than trying to go for the fastest lap in fourth.”
Verstappen confident he had the pace to pull away by over five seconds
Verstappen is also confident that he could have pulled out a gap over Hamilton if he managed to get by for the lead, and gain over five seconds for the race win.
"He was so slow in Turn 5 and 6 that we had a lot more,” Verstappen said. “It’s easy to say that now but I felt we had a lot more pace. Lewis was clearly on the wrong tyre.”
Verstappen's season has been a story of third and fourth place finishes, which leaves him fourth in the world championship, splitting the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.
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