Max Verstappen fury after retiring from Monaco Grand Prix: 'What the f*** man?!'

Verstappen during FP1 in Monaco — Photo: © IMAGO

Monaco Grand Prix

Max Verstappen fury after retiring from Monaco Grand Prix: 'What the f*** man?!'

Verstappen was out on lap one

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 7 June 2026 16:08

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Max Verstappen was left raging at his Red Bull car after retiring from the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on the opening lap.

Verstappen had an eye on winning his first race in 2026 as well as his second podium for Red Bull who have struggled at the start of the season having entered a new partnership with Ford for this season.

That win looked possible when the four-time world champion qualified second on the grid behind Kimi Antonelli who was on pole position, with the Mercedes driver plagued by poor race starts throughout the opening races of 2026.

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Instead, it was Verstappen who barely got away off the start line, dropping to last at the first corner. He immediately moaned down the team radio: "Yep, nice, completely **** guys, what the **** man?!"

Max Verstappen explains Red Bull isssue

Shortly after, Verstappen pitted on the opening lap to retire the car, his second grand prix DNF of the season after dropping out of the second race in China.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his retirement and during the race, Verstappen explained his pre-race issues, saying: “The formation lap was not going very well.

"After that the pre-start was terrible, like there was just no consistency and then the engine just dropped out, and I only got a little bit of power back after the first corner, and then the engine sounded really awful. I could not go full throttle, so we brought it back, and that was it.”

Verstappen's P2 was his best qualifying performance of the season but the Dutchman was cautious on whether Red Bull's form in Monaco was a sign of them returning to the top, or just a one-off given Monaco's unique circuit characteristics.

“[It's a] completely different track, so it will be a good chance to see if we actually really made a proper step forward or not, because that's all about high speed and aerial performance. So, that will be an interesting weekend.”

Isack Hadjar also struggled for Red Bull

It wasn't just Verstappen's car suffering Red Bull gremlins in Monaco, with his team-mate Isack Hadjar also plagued by mechanical issues.

Early in the race, the Frenchman sat fourth but complained about engine issues on his own car while trying to hold off the faster Mercedes of George Russell.

Hadjar said over the team radio: "0h my god, the engine braking is a joke, what's happening?"

After being told his team were searching for a fix, Hadjar responded: "yeah, something wrong something wrong, first gear man, not usable... something is going to explode the engine is not healthy right now."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Monaco Grand Prix Isack Hadjar