Max Verstappen on Ferrari possibly winning at Monaco: “When you’re not winning and hear the Italian national anthem, it’s a beautiful one”

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen mentioned that he likes to hear the Italian national anthem and called it beautiful ahead of a possible Ferrari win at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. The Dutch driver has been dominating the sport since the beginning of the 2022 season, having won three consecutive world championships.

However, in a fan event ahead of the qualifying session in the Principality, He was asked about a song that he liked to hear, apart from the Dutch national anthem.

Verstappen initially claimed that he would want to make the Dutch anthem a bit longer, but picked the Italian national anthem as his next favorite, saying (via Ferrari News on X):

"When I’m not winning, I happily listen to the Italian national anthem on the podium. On the podium, it’s not nice to not win, but when you’re not winning, and you hear the Italian national anthem, it’s a beautiful one."

The three-time champion had an ordinary qualifying session in Monaco on Saturday (May 25) as he finished P6. In his post-race interview with Sky Sports, Verstappen said that he wasn't 'disappointed' by the result:

"I'm not disappointed with the position, I'm disappointed with our performance. It did not come as a surprise to me because I knew our limitations coming into this weekend. It's been bad. I can't take any kerbs."

"It's been very difficult for us. I felt really comfortable in the high-speed corners, at least that was enjoyable but in the low-speed we are losing too much, where it's bumpy and the car is jumping around," he added.

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Max Verstappen previews the Monaco GP after qualifying P6

Max Verstappen stated that the main race on Sunday would be straightforward as there isn't a lot a driver could do on a street track like Monaco. As quoted by Sky Sports, he said:

"If it's a straightforward race, there's not much you can do. The cars are so wide and so big, that you can't pass. We will try to stick with them. We don't have the fastest car. It's not like we qualified out of position, so there's not a pace advantage we can use. We will see what happens."

The Red Bull driver has won the Monaco Grand Prix on two previous occasions in the 2021 and 2023 seasons, but in both instances, he started the race at the front of the grid.