Max Verstappen admits one moment left Red Bull F1 driver ‘shaking’ in 2023

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Max Verstappen has now admitted that his fight with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso for pole position for the Monaco GP left the Red Bull driver ‘shaking’ after the session.

Just 0.084 seconds split Verstappen and Alonso atop the timesheets in Q3 with the Red Bull racer claiming pole. But the 26-year-old felt P1 slipping through his fingers entering the final sector. So, Verstappen drove the RB19 to its and his own limits to overcome the 42-year-old.

Pole for the Monaco GP is one of the most important positions of the season given the tight circuit. Overtaking is not impossible but it is extremely challenging around the streets of the Principality. And Verstappen was only sat in P5 when the final laps of Q3 began back in May.

Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso to pole for the Monaco GP

Verstappen faced a deficit of nearly four-tenths of a second to Alonso on provisional pole for the Monaco GP. The Dutchman’s first run of Q3 yielded a lap time slower than his fastest run in Q2. Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and George Russell all eclipsed the untidy lap.

It looked likely that Verstappen’s second run would also not be enough for pole after steady times during the first two sectors. But the at-the-time two-time F1 champion saved his best to last. The would-be 2023 title-winner went purple through the final sector and seized P1.

But other drivers were still posting faster times and Verstappen fell back down the order. He had opted for a second run on the same set of tyres as the Red Bull ace set his initial time. It left a do-or-die last run on new tyres. Yet Verstappen again set steady times to start his lap.

Max Verstappen admits the Red Bull star’s Q3 lap left him ‘shaking’

Verstappen had it all to do entering the final sector but went to his and the Red Bull RB19’s limits for pole. He beat Alonso by just 0.084 seconds and admitted on their radio to hitting the walls ‘a few times’. Now, Verstappen admits the Monaco GP pole fight left him ‘shaking’.

“Of course, I realised when I was taking the curve before the start of the third sector that I had been faster than I had driven previously,” Verstappen has told Marca. “But I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I also had that feeling.

“So, I thought: ‘I’m going to go completely to the limit and see how it ends’. I could have made pole or I could have crashed into the wall. And, yes, I touched some walls, I ‘kissed’ them a little. But, of course, it was a beautiful area.

“I noticed when I parked the car and took off my helmet, I was still shaking a little. There you know that your heart rate is at its maximum and that pushes you to get the best you have.”

The Monaco GP yielded one of Verstappen’s 12 pole positions over the 2023 F1 season. He also went on to beat Alonso to win the race with the Aston Martin driver finishing the 78-lap event 28 seconds behind. Alonso secured his last pole position in F1 at the 2012 German GP.