of lap two, but collided with the Mercedes driver and suffered a puncture that ultimately led to suspension damage, forcing him out of the race. At the next race in China, Verstappen qualified fifth and had moved up to third at the end of the first lap. Both Red Bull drivers pitted for fresh tyres during a safety car which left them with a tyre advantage over the front-runners ahead. In an overtake attempt on Sebastian Vettel for third place, Verstappen collided with the championship leader, causing him to fall to eighth and receive a 10-second penalty. He recovered to fourth place, with his penalty causing him to be classified fifth. Teammate Ricciardo went on to win the race. In Azerbaijan, Verstappen was embroiled in a race-long battle with Ricciardo for fourth place. After numerous position changes between the two teammates during the race, Ricciardo ran into the back of Verstappen during an overtake attempt from which the Dutchman aggressively defended, causing the retirement of both cars. Both drivers were blamed by the team and reprimanded by the stewards. Verstappen bounced back in Spain with his first podium of the season by finishing third behind the Mercedes drivers, holding off Sebastian Vettel. However, the race was also not without incident as he had run into the back of Lance Stroll during the virtual safety car period, causing minor front wing damage. In Monaco, Verstappen made another error and crashed near the end of the third free practice session in an incident which closely resembled a crash he had at the same spot two years earlier. His team could not repair his car in time for qualifying and Verstappen had to start the race from the back of the grid. Verstappen did not compete and did not set a lap time in qualifying, therefore teammate Ricciardo pressed home Red Bull's advantage at the track by taking pole position and the race win. Verstappen managed to salvage 2 points by finishing ninth place, overtaking 6 cars on track. Team principal Christian Horner commented on Verstappen's start of the season, saying he "needed to stop making these mistakes" and that he could "learn from his teammate", while Helmut Marko, head of driver development at Red Bull, said that Verstappen was "too impatient". Verstappen now lay in sixth place in the championship with 35 points, only three points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the