Max Verstappen has opened up after being forced to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Dutchman, who has experienced a tough start to the season, stalled at the start before pulling into the pits and ultimately withdrawing.
Verstappen was visibly angry in the aftermath, with his hopes of a fifth Formula One title taking yet another hit.
And the 28-year-old has now revealed what went wrong, explaining that a problem with his engine meant he was unable to continue.
"Already the formation lap was not going very well and then, after that, the pre-start was terrible, there was no consistency, and then the engine just dropped dead," he said.
"I only got a little bit of power back after the first corner and then the engine sounded really awful.
"I could not go full throttle so we brought it back [to the pits] and that was it."
Max Verstappen has opened up after being forced to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday
|GETTY
For Red Bull, the inquest will now begin.
Verstappen had performed well during qualifying on Saturday, battling his way to a respectable fifth-placed finish.
Yet with Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell already way ahead of him in the standings, his hopes of a fifth F1 crown appear more remote than ever.
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The F1 calendar for the 2026 season | GB NEWS/GETTYAfter being forced to pull out of Sunday's showpiece event in Monte Carlo, Sky Sports pundit and F1 legend Martin Brundle expressed sympathy for Verstappen.
"I'm gutted about that. That was going to be so exciting watching Max trying to find a way through," he said.
"He parked his car hard right and wasn't thinking about Antonelli, he was thinking about the Ferraris."
Verstappen's long-term future in F1 is currently shrouded in uncertainty.
The Red Bull star, who is contracted to the side until the end of the 2028 campaign, has vocally criticised the sport ever since new regulations were introduced at the beginning of the campaign.
Max Verstappen stalled at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix | GETTYVerstappen has even boldly claimed that he could quit the sport for good, and announce his retirement, unless his concerns are addressed.
Red Bull, in turn, have insisted they'll be able to keep their star man happy as they seek a return to the glory days of old.
However, it will certainly be interesting to see how Verstappen responds to this latest setback, with his season going from bad to worse.
Antonelli and Russell lead the standings, while Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are also ahead of him.