Verstappen takes ’hard lesson’ from Monaco

Max Verstappen says he will take the "hard lessons" on board from Monaco and other races so far in 2018.

The young Dutchman had a horror Monaco, missing qualifying after a crash, receiving widespread criticism and then watching his teammate Daniel Ricciardo celebrate the pole and win.

"These are painful moments," Verstappen told Ziggo Sport after the race, "but I think it’s necessary to get better.

"Sometimes you have a year that does not work out for a while, but it’s much worse if you’re not fast enough — and that’s not the case," he added.

Even Verstappen’s bosses Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko criticised him after the Monaco crash, but the 20-year-old said he can learn his own lessons.

"I do not need that criticism, I know very well what I did wrong and what needs to be improved. They are not great moments but sometimes you need them to learn the hard lessons," he said.