The Red Bull RB21 upgrades meant Max Verstappen was back in control at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but Helmut Marko warns this could change.

That is because next up is this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, and so as Verstappen and Red Bull take on a “completely different circuit” compared to Imola, the team’s senior advisor Marko stressed that Verstappen’s race-winning pace from last weekend is not guaranteed for Monaco.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull: Imola repeat in Monaco?

Despite being pipped to pole by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen uncorked an overtake of the season contender – one which will be very hard to beat – as he swooped around Piastri at the opening chicane and never looked back from there.

Racing on to his second victory of the season – and first since winning the Japanese Grand Prix in early April – the combination of Verstappen and the upgraded Red Bull RB21 proved a combination too hot to handle.

“The car is now doing what Max wants again,” Marko declared to OE24. “That’s down to the updates, which have thankfully worked.”

It was a timely victory for Verstappen’s hopes of winning a fifth straight Drivers’ Championship, with Piastri’s P3 result meaning Verstappen narrowed his deficit to the World Championship leader to 22 points.

And so, Marko was asked whether Verstappen now has a title-winning car at his disposal once more in the form of the Red Bull RB21?

“That was just Imola, things could look very different again at the next Grand Prix,” Marko cautioned.

That is because the Circuit de Monaco – Marko points out – is “a completely different circuit with only slow corners.”

As such, Marko warns Verstappen that: “Things could be a lot worse there.”

That being said, Monaco is the track which arguably brings driver ability to the fore more than any other venue.

“That’s true,” Marko acknowledged.

And after the overtake which Verstappen pulled on Piastri at Imola, Marko’s view that Verstappen is the undisputed cream of the crop was only further strengthened.

“Max proved once again with his manoeuvre at the start that he is the best: only he can recognise the gap and then exploit it,” Marko insists.

F1 2025 head-to-head stats going into Monaco GP

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👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

Verstappen too is taking a cautious approach into the Monaco Grand Prix, a race which he finished P6 last year, after wins in 2021 and 2023.

“This track has quite a few high-speed corners, which I think our car likes,” said Verstappen after taking victory at Imola. “I also think we took a step forward with the setup of the car, which helps.

“[The next race in] Monaco is, of course, very, very different. So, let’s see how we are going to perform there. Last year was very difficult for us. I don’t expect it to be a lot easier this time around because there’s, of course, a lot of low speed, but we’ll see.

“I mean, it’s just one race on the calendar, where you try to do the best you can. Even after that, there’s a lot of races left, but, of course, you can clearly see that once we go to high-speed tracks and corners, then we are more competitive.”

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