Verstappen determined to turn around wretched Monaco form

Max Verstappen is determined to erase mistakes of the past at Monaco this weekend as he aims to keep his F1 championship battle with Lewis Hamilton close.

Verstappen enters the weekend 14 points behind rival Hamilton following the first four races of the season in which the Mercedes driver has won three to the one for his Red Bull rival.

Monaco has not been a happy hunting ground for Verstappen as he has yet to stand on the podium in the Principality as practice and qualifying errors have halted his progress in previous years.

"So far, Monaco, a few mistakes from my side, unlucky in some races so it has not been the best for me," said Verstappen. "It would be a nice weekend for me to turn that around here."

On Red Bull's fortunes at the circuit, he added: "I think it has been a bit up and down.

"In 2016 and '18 we did have a good car here and the other years, since I was with the team, it was not that easy, let's say it like that.

"It all depends on the competitiveness of the car from the start. A few years we were a bit off and some other years I think we had a better start to the year.

"So far this year it seems like we have had a competitive start so I hope it will be the same here but every year is different so I don't know at the moment."

With the tight, twisting nature of the track, overtaking is at a high premium compared to other venues on the calendar, ensuring qualifying is crucial.

"It is something very different, especially in qualifying when you go to the limit and it is so narrow around here," he explained.

"There are other street circuits out there but it always feels there is more room there and here there is not. Qualifying is so important around here because in the race it is so difficult to pass.

"There is naturally a bit more focus to qualifying but it is nice to drive around here."

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