At the Monte-Carlo Grand Prix, Max Verstappen became the Driver of the day, but lost a possible third podium.

Red Bull has always performed well in Monaco. And last Sunday Max confirmed it and had an unusually strong race. After a fierce fight with Lewis Hamilton and finish on P2, the Dutch moved to the 4^th position, due to 5 seconds penalty for dangerous actions on the pit lane between Max and Valtteri Bottas.

However, looking back at the last laps of the race, when Max was attacking Hamilton and trying to overtake him. Despite they were on different strategies: Lewis on Medium, and Max on Hard, and that Hamilton’s tyres strongly wore out by the end of race, Max wasn’t able to beat him, despite he was very close to the rival.

Unfortunately, now Red Bull can’t boast of high results. This season, the team has reliable Honda engines, excellent aerodynamic characteristics, which has always been their main key to success, and strong performances by its drivers. However, they still can’t stop the total Mercedes’ dominance, and the fact that in most races "free" third place of podium goes to Ferrari drivers.

Verstappen was lucky to go to the podium twice this season: in Australia and in Spain, and moreover, at the moment he hasn’t finished below P4 this season. In Drivers Standings he takes 4^th position, while his teammate Pierre Gasly keeps the 6^th. However, it looks very doubtful he will be able to get at least one victory this season.

Therefore, recent rumors come in handly. According to insider information, Red Bull negotiated with Nico Hulkenberg from Renault. Previously, it was assumed that Red Bull considers the German as a possible replacement for Pierre Gasly, however, perhaps, Nico is a reserve option for the bulls, if the team suddenly leaves Max.

And here's why. Over the past year, Max has matured and become much more experienced and patient. Second, doesn’t matter how well the team does its work, it’s still far from Mercedes and even Ferrari, which now has a real chaos inside. And thirdly, Valtteri Bottas hasn’t yet extended the contract with Mercedes, and Sebastian Vettel is already talking about leaving the championship.

So, perhaps the negotiations between Red Bull and Nico Hulkenberg is a very important sign that the leader of the bulls is thinking about changing the team. It’s clear, Max is one of those drivers who is destined to become a champion. However, perhaps Red Bull isn’t destined to become the champions with Max.

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