Verstappen labels 'boring' Monaco GP procession ‘not racing’

Max Verstappen has called for changes to be made at the Monaco Grand Prix after stating Sunday's event was “not racing”.

Overtaking has always been a challenge around the narrow streets in Monaco, with this year's edition proving no different.

A red flag on the opening lap allowed the field to make their mandatory pit stops while waiting for the race to resume.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won from pole position, with the entire top 10 finishing in the same order as they started.

Verstappen crossed the line in sixth place behind Mercedes' George Russell, making a late pit stop to close in on the Briton in the final stages.

“After the red flag our strategy was a bit ruined because then we had to put the Medium to the end, everyone had a free stop,” Verstappen told media including RacingNews365.

“That meant we had to save a lot, just try to follow George. We were massively off the pace trying to manage the tyre.

“It’s quite boring out there. You're driving literally half throttle on the straights, some places a gear higher than you would normally do. Four seconds off the pace more or less, that’s not really racing.”

Changes to Monaco

Monaco has long held a position on the calendar, having been part of the schedule during the first world championship season in 1950.

However, Verstappen has called for changes to be made to the event in order to boost the spectacle on race day.

“First of all, I would like to try, if there’s a possibility, to maybe change a few little things because it will make the excitement even better,” he said.

“Because I think overall the weekend is really cool. Just the Sunday is a little bit boring, unfortunately.

“The scenery is still great. If we can find a way to race a bit better, why not? That would probably be my preferred solution.”