"It’s flabbergasting to behold": Max Verstappen's 2023 F1 Monaco GP pole lap termed 'lap of the gods' by former F1 racer

Max Verstappen's pole lap in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP has been termed the 'lap of the gods' by former F1 racer David Kennedy.

The former driver talked about the brilliance shown by the reigning champion and how it was him and not the car that made the difference.

During the qualifying session in Monaco, Max Verstappen was under immense pressure on his final lap. His lap had been bettered first by Alpine's Esteban Ocon, then by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and finally by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

After the first two sectors, the Red Bull driver was two-tenths down on the benchmark time but it was at that moment that he pulled the rabbit out of his hat. The driver nailed the final sector and secured pole position.

Calling Max Verstappen's pole lap 'Senna-esque', Kennedy told Planet F1:

“I don’t use the word lightly, it was Senna-esque. What we saw in Monaco was truly a lap of the greats. It’s rare that you see performances like that. Only those who sat at the side of a corner watching Senna throw the car, drifting and controlling the throttle to take it to its absolute limit."

He added:

"It’s flabbergasting to behold. It truly wasn’t his car, I think for that weekend, or his race, but that performance made it. The chips were down and he knew what he had to do. Even though the first two segments didn’t really nail it, the last segment was just outstanding and clearly a lap of the gods.”

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Max Verstappen's growth over the years commended by Christian Horner

Red Bull boss Christian Horner commended Max Verstappen's growth over the years and how he has matured despite keeping that natural speed. He told Sky Sports:

"I think in 2016 he was very raw. He was incredibly fast. hugely naturally talented. He still has that natural speed and tremendous ability but I think what he has now is the experience and roundedness."

Horner added:

"The capacity he has - when he's recognising Helmut Marko's phone ringing from within the car, he's just got this added bandwidth that has put him in another level. The exciting thing about him is that he's still getting better."

Max Verstappen is currently leading the driver's championship by 53 points over teammate Sergio Perez. He's won five races this season and the last three of them in a row. The driver has been in splendid form and looks set to win his third world drivers' championship this season.