Verstappen shares glimpse behind early Monaco GP exit as Red Bull trouble hits race start

• Photo courtesy of F1

Max Verstappen gave a small glimpse into what went wrong after his Monaco Grand Prix 2026 ended early, with the Red Bull driver pointing to problems even before the race fully got underway.

Verstappen, who was among the key contenders in Monte Carlo, was forced out of contention after an apparent technical issue hit his Red Bull in the opening moments of the race.

The Dutch driver said the problem was already noticeable during the pre-start phase before the engine began to sound unusual.

“After that, the pre-start was terrible. Like there was just no uh yeah, no consistency and uh yeah, then the engine just jumped out. I only got a little bit of fall back after the first corner and then the engine sounded really off, so uh yeah, I couldn’t really go full throttle, so we brought it back and that was it,” Verstappen said.

Verstappen’s frustration was also heard over team radio, where he said: “Yep, nice complete ****, guys. What the ****, man?”

The issue added to Red Bull’s difficult start in Monaco, as his teammate Isack Hadjar was also heard complaining over the radio about his Red Bull car.

As of writing, Red Bull has yet to issue a statement on the matter.