Pressure builds on Verstappen as Red Bull’s advantage wanes

When it comes to matters of racing, Max Verstappen is in the habit of speaking his mind.

If his car isn’t quick enough, the engineers will know about it. If his race strategy shuffles him backwards, the pit wall had better listen up. And if he collides with another driver, the stewards will be fully aware of his side of the story.

There’s no space for grey areas, no time for excuses, no accepting second best.

And if there happens to be anyone who doesn’t like the way he goes racing, or anyone who takes offence at the comments he makes over team radio, or anyone who thinks he should approach his craft in a different manner … well, in Verstappen’s own words, “They can all f— off.”

Such a binary view of such a complex sport can be problematic, but it was in full effect as Verstappen spoke to the media after Formula One‘s Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. It was Verstappen’s third consecutive race without a victory, and he seemed intent on using the occasion as a wake-up call for his Red Bull team.

The last time he had such a long wait for a win was in the three races leading up to his championship showdown with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the 2½ seasons since then, Verstappen has become accustomed to winning, and he and the team have reached unimaginable highs during that period.

Now, though, Red Bull’s rivals have caught up, meaning mistakes no longer go unpunished and victories are anything but guaranteed. The situation is not yet at the point where Verstappen’s march to a fourth world title looks under threat, but it has started to reveal some cracks in the dynamic between driver and team.

As was the case in Austria two races ago, Verstappen blamed a collision-induced fifth-place finish on the failings of the team’s strategy.

“We didn’t have the pace to fight McLaren today, but then I think we could still have had a P3,” he said. “The wrong strategy calls put me on the back foot where I constantly had to fight people, try to overtake, but it didn’t work.”

Lando Norris finishing second to McLaren teammate Oscar Plates limited the damage to Verstappen’s championship lead, which still stands at a very healthy 76 points, the equivalent of three race victories and one fastest lap. Even with such a large buffer, though, Verstappen sees Red Bull’s recent dip as a serious concern and hinted that some Red Bull team members didn’t seem to share his level of urgency in turning the situation around.

“I already said yesterday maybe some people are not on the same wavelength,” he said. “It’s as severe as it is. I knew it was going to be a difficult race and beating McLaren would be tough, but you at least need to get a P3 over the line and even that we couldn’t do.”

Verstappen’s frustrations boil over

Although he made his feelings known in the media, Verstappen’s most blunt criticism of Red Bull was issued via team radio during the race.

Verstappen and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase are known for their typically frank exchanges, and Lambiase routinely gives as good as he gets, often putting Verstappen in his place when his driver takes issue with his team’s decisions. Behind the verbal volleying, there is a clear and deep level of respect between the two, but even by their standards, the relationship on Sunday seemed tense.

Verstappen initially took issue with the team’s race strategy, which saw him extend each of his stints longer than his rivals in the hope of making back positions with fresher tyres later in the race. In staying out longer, he lost track position to Hamilton at his first pit stop and another place to Charles Leclerc at his second stop.

“It’s quite impressive how we let ourselves get undercut,” he said over team radio. “It’s completely f—ed my race.”

To make up lost time to Leclerc and Hamilton, Verstappen pushed hard after his pit stop, risking damage to his Pirelli tyres, which typically deliver long-term benefits if they are treated easily early in the stint.

“Well, that’s some gentle introduction,” Lambiase said, pointing out Verstappen’s aggressive lap times.

“No, mate, don’t give me that s— now,” Verstappen responded. “You guys gave me this s— strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. F—.”

A further frustrated exchange came when Verstappen lunged past Hamilton to reclaim third place and the two collided. Verstappen felt Hamilton turned in on him under braking (although the stewards later noted Hamilton took the same racing line he had on previous laps) and seemed keen to get his side of the story across on team radio for the stewards’ benefit.

“He moved under braking,” Verstappen said, perhaps expecting Lambiase to agree.

“I’m not even going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max,” Lambiase responded. “We’ll let the stewards do their thing.

“It’s childish on the radio. Childish.”

The response could be construed as Lambiase reaching the end of his tether with Verstappen’s radio messages during the race, but team principal Christian Horner said the “childish” comment was aimed at rival teams.

“I think GP [Lambiase] at that point wasn’t referring to Max; he was referring to others on the radio complaining about penalties, so I don’t think GP at that point was in reference to Max,” Horner said. “Others are obviously goading for penalties, because obviously the stewards are listening to the radio as well.

“They’ve been together for eight years, and, yeah, there’s things that we could have done better in the race today, but it’s something that we’ll talk about as a team.”

Asked by Sky Sports after the race whether he would apologise to his team for the radio exchanges, Verstappen said: “I don’t think we need to apologise, I just think we need to do a better job. I don’t know why people think that you cannot be vocal on the radio. I mean, this is a sport.

“If some people don’t like that, then they can stay home.”

Does Red Bull still have the fastest car?

At the root of Verstappen’s frustrations in Hungary was the simple fact that he didn’t have the fastest car. In the relatively low-speed, long-duration corners that make up the vast majority of the Hungaroring lap, the McLaren was faster while Verstappen struggled to find a comfortable balance with the Red Bull.

While it always seemed likely McLaren might hold an advantage over Red Bull in Hungary, the world champions came to the circuit with a significant upgrade package. Verstappen’s RB20 featured new upper bodywork, a revised front wing and corresponding aero tweaks around the front and rear wheels, but to no avail in the fight with McLaren.

After qualifying behind both McLarens on Saturday, Verstappen rejected the assumption the upgrades hadn’t worked, but admitted Red Bull’s significant early-season advantage had been eroded and the car was becoming increasingly difficult to drive on the limit.

“For sure the upgrades work, but we’re still not first, right?” he said. “So we need more. It’s as simple as that.

“I mean, I think looking back at my qualifying, I was very happy with the laps, but yeah, balance wise, everything is really on the edge. I’m pushing as hard as I can and then, of course, you have little moments here and there.

“I feel like I probably push harder than I did last year, but it’s just not coming anymore to have these great lap times. So I guess it just means that we are a bit slower. So we have work to do. Simple as that.”

Next week’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps should be more suited to Red Bull’s strengths and will likely see a more closely fought battle at the front. Horner remains hopeful that the performance of the car and its latest upgrades will become more accessible over the coming rounds as the team continues to refine its setup.

“I think we’ve got more performance to bring, so as I say, I think we need to expand that operating window for the car, so when the car is in the right window it qualifies on pole by four tenths like it did in Austria,” he said. “Here we missed the pole by less than a tenth, but you can see when you listen to the driver, particularly Max, he’s got limitations in the car that he knows is where the performance is.

“The trick is how you translate those issues into solutions, engineering-wise and aerodynamically.”

Ultimately, Red Bull and Verstappen want the same thing: to get back to winning races. But the harder team and driver chase their goal, the more the tension is likely to rise if they don’t achieve it.