Max Verstappen has stated he “felt myself again” after his strong run to the front row of the grid in Monaco.
Verstappen emerged as a late contender for pole position on Saturday around the Monte Carlo track, having endured a largely difficult season thus far.
However, he was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Kimi Antonelli, who bagged his fourth pole position of the season.
Verstappen, who has been a vocal opposer to the new power unit regulations this year, praised the chassis performance in Monaco, where engine deployment is less of a factor.
The chassis regulation is not that bad at all,” Verstappen told media inlcuding RacingNews365.
“In general, the cars being a little bit more narrow and stuff, I think it’s alright. Also, I quite like now the vision on the front axle is a bit better around apexes again, instead of that thing we had above the tyre before.
While the Dutchman still had his frustrations with the car, Verstappen’s demeanour after qualifying was a notable improvement on his traditional 2026 outlook.
As the four-time champion explained, the car felt more in tune with what he has enjoyed driving in the past.
Of course, if you can go flat out and you can just select the gears that you want to use in the corners, it’s always going to be better,” he said.
“So, I finally felt just myself again in the car, let’s say like that, with the way you want to use the gears.
“Unfortunately, of course, we can’t do that in too many places on the calendar, but that’s what then makes it more and more natural to drive for sure.”