Max Verstappen defended himself following criticism of his angry radio messages during the Hungarian Grand Prix and suggestions that his simracing the night before affected his performance.
The Red Bull driver clashed several times with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase in Hungary after the team’s strategy dropped him behind rival cars. Verstappen said his responses were not a “personal attack” and is not concerned if those outside the team disapprove of them.“Of course I’m frustrated: You want to do the best you can, the team wants to do the best they can and these kind of things, they don’t happen on purpose,” Verstappen told Sky. “But at the time it is very frustrating because you could have extracted a better result out of it.
“Now, I think also many times I have praised the team when they’ve done a good job, and that’s how we operate. When it’s good, it’s good. When it’s bad, it’s bad and it needs to be said.
“Sometimes maybe some people think it’s very harsh, but that’s the way we operate. This is not a personal attack at anyone, because at the end of the day, we are a team, we win and lose together. But I am quite vocal about it, that’s how I operate.
“Some people might not appreciate it outside of the team, some viewers or whatever, but you’re not a part of the team. That’s fine if you don’t, not everyone needs to agree with everything.”
Verstappen fell from third on the grid to finish fifth on Sunday after colliding with Lewis Hamilton. He spent the previous night participating in the iRacing 24 Hours of Spa until around 3am in the morning.
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Yesterday Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said they had “agreed that in future he won’t do simulations so late anymore.” However Verstappen doesn’t believe his simracing had any effect on his performance last weekend and insisted he is best-placed to judge what pre-race activity is “appropriate” for him.
“I’m a three-time world champion, I think I know quite well what I can do and what I cannot do. I’ve been doing that already for eight, nine years, this kind of stuff, and suddenly now because you have one race when things didn’t work out, then these kind of things get brought up by some people, for me, it’s just like any other day. So for me it has nothing to do with that.
“I think I’m professional enough to know when it’s appropriate or not and we move on from that. You just have to focus on what’s at hand now.”
He acknowledged this weekend’s race could be more of a challenge if Red Bull choose to change his power unit, which will incur a penalty.
“We are not the quickest at the moment, we know that,” he said. “We have a few things to figure out in the car.
“And a potential penalty, of course, that we have to take this weekend, which won’t help. We’ll try to optimise everything and try to be better.”
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Verstappen’s clashes with Lambiase in Hungary
| Lap: 3/70 VER: 1’24.075 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Max, the incident is under investigation. I think our recommendation is you let this go. We can talk about it later. So if you let Lando past down to turn one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Why don’t they just say what they think and then we decide. That’s just bullshit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | So recommend we give that place back into turn one, Max. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Okay, so you can just run people off the track then. You can tell the FIA that’s how we’re going to race from now onwards. Just drive people off the road. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 4/70 VER: 1’26.075 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Max, we’re got the pace here, mate. Just let him through. It’s a long race. We’ve got the pace. Head down. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Verstappen lets Norris past approaching turn two Yeah but that’s not my point. |
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| Lambiase | I agree with you. But let’s just get this done now. Now head down. Let’s go. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 30/70 VER: 1’23.150 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | 22.8. Just have another look at gear three, [turn] six and seven, Max. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | No it’s absolutely dog-shit there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 35/70 VER: 1’25.757 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | I’m minus five brake bias and the thing just doesn’t fucking turn. It’s unbelievable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 39/70 VER: 1’24.675 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | So Leclerc will have DRS next lap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase |
Approaching final corner Mode nine. |
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| Lap: 40/70 VER: 1’25.005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase |
Verstappen comes out of the last corner behind Hamilton but appears to have difficulty using his power boost Press and hold the overtake. |
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| Verstappen | Nine? Five or nine? It’s shit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | And then press and hold the overtake Max, if you’re in mode seven. Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 41/70 VER: 1’23.221 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | So both Hamilton and Leclerc in pit lane. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | It’s quite impressive how we let ourselves get undercut and just completely fucked my race. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 52/70 VER: 1’21.171 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase |
Verstappen sets the fastest lap of the race so far Well, that’s some gentle introduction. |
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| Verstappen | No mate don’t give me that bullshit now. You guys gave me this fucking strategy, okay? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. Fuck’s sake. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 63/70 VER: 1’28.648 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen |
Verstappen and Hamilton collide at turn one He moved under braking. |
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| Lambiase | I’m not even going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max. We’ll let the stewards do their thing. It’s childish, on the radio, childish. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2024 Belgian Grand Prix
- Belgian GP was “still a win” for Russell despite disqualification
- High plank wear also a factor in Russell’s disqualification, say Mercedes
- Russell is sixth F1 driver to be disqualified after winning a grand prix
- Unheard radio shows why Hamilton missed Russell’s (almost) race-winning strategy
- 2024 Belgian Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
MichaelN
25th July 2024, 18:54
Indeed, it’s just a chance for some to have a dig at Verstappen.
Whether it’s Button and his long row of partners, Hamilton and his fashion interest, or Verstappen and his gaming, there’s always someone with an axe to grind who sees it as this huge issue. It’s really not.
Jazz (@jazz)
25th July 2024, 21:23
I dunno about you, but if I were paying his $30+ million salary and I found out he was gaming till 3am on a race day, I would be going nuclear on him. Also, if I were in receipt of a $30+ million salary, I would show my employer a lot more respect and not publicly put them in a position of having to deal with my early hour gaming escapades. Its deplorable and frankly I wouldn’t expect any better from the thick as two short planks Verstappen.
Nick T.
25th July 2024, 21:44
Jos the Boss taught Max his maxim: “respect is a one-way street.”
Robert (@lekkerbek)
25th July 2024, 22:42
Is it the same guy who won the team 140 million dollar price money? The guy is a winning machine. Perez shows how the car on aversge performs.
Steve (@scbriml)
26th July 2024, 8:56
@lekkerbek No, Verstappen shows what the car is capable of, Perez is just a poor driver.
MichaelN
25th July 2024, 22:48
He’s been doing this for years, years in which he mopped the floor with the competition.
The only reason this is getting a lot of play is that a few loud voices in the media landscape kept harping on about it and then asked people about it, giving them license to serve the answers up as part of the ‘controversy’.
Verstappen will almost certainly win more races this year, and then nobody will ask him how many hours he slept.
MadMax (@madmax)
26th July 2024, 9:06
2 years to be precise. 2 years in which the car was on average around 1s a lap faster than any other car. half of the drivers on the grid would have easily won the championship in the RBR those 2 years.
Osnola
26th July 2024, 10:40
Still dreaming i see…
MadMax (@madmax)
26th July 2024, 12:46
still denying reality…
JV
26th July 2024, 9:56
As long as it doesn’t influence his on track perfomance, what he does in his free-time is his business. He’s professional enough to realize when it becomes a problem.
We have almost no insight into anything that’s going on.
Free
26th July 2024, 9:30
Like this site you mean? https://www.racefans.net/2024/07/24/red-bull-put-a-stop-to-verstappens-late-night-simracing-before-f1-races/
David BR (@david-br)
25th July 2024, 19:00
He sounded bad-tempered, which is fine, grouchy with his race engineer (and vice-versa), also fine, but the question is whether his emotional mood affected his decision to lunge-pass Hamilton, losing him the chance to pass and also relegating him to 5th (and it could have been another DNF from aggressive racing on his part). In other words, non-optimal decision-making. Equally that may be completely unrelated to late-nights and it’s just the way he always drives when under pressure. He should be experienced enough to know.
Shimks (@shimks)
25th July 2024, 19:04
Nicely put, @david-br, with a lovely undercurrent!
Jazz (@jazz)
25th July 2024, 19:07
Totally agree 100%. 19 other drivers regularly lose to Verstappen and don’t give their teams anywhere near the amount of lip that this hired thug gives his immediates. He can justify it anyway he wants, but there’s a more decent way to act especially in front of a worldwide audience. I call it what it is, unnecessary foul language, thuggery and bullying.
MichaelN
25th July 2024, 19:16
Verstappen was annoyed, but his little rant only came after the pointlessly passive-aggresive sarcasm from his engineer. People tend not to appreciate sarcasm at the best of times, never mind in the middle of a high intensity physical activity. Even if the engineer had reason to be annoyed, he was best placed to be the bigger man in this case. He failed to do that.
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
25th July 2024, 19:45
Have you read all the radio messages?! And please bear in mind that Horner alleges the “It’s childish, on the radio, childish.” is about the radio talk from other teams and was not directed at Max.
Edvaldo
25th July 2024, 20:23
It’s childish when it’s a lost cause, like that contact.
It won’t be when they get an actual reason on their hands.
MichaelN
25th July 2024, 22:50
Yes, the comments about Verstappen’s fast outlap were the only one to get a really angry response. I have no idea what the engineer hoped to achieve with that. It was clear Verstappen was annoyed and felt they had bungled the stop’s timing. That wasn’t the right time to go making sarcastic comments.
theRealMax (@millionus)
25th July 2024, 19:54
I would tend to agree @jazz . It pains me that everyone just explains his outbursts away, when in all honesty it’s just treating people with respect. I know people talk about heat of the moment and that (I played pro sport) but again it’s simply standards and being a decent human. I see glimpses of it from verstappen but in these moments he just a bit of an a*rse and needs putting in his place.
I’m sure Toto won’t be so agreeable when he moves ;)
Osnola
26th July 2024, 10:42
If he keeps winning toto will care less.
Nick T.
25th July 2024, 21:46
Everyone knows the best way to get back to winning ways is to scream at your team “If I don’t have a winning car right this second, I will crush you!” TBF to Max, his arch nemesis wasn’t patient at all either after coming off a decade straight in the best car.
Patrick (@anunaki)
25th July 2024, 19:27
It’s just the way it is nowadays. More pressure then ever on the press to keep making stories, social media and websites where everyone has an opinion and on top of that the in game communication is open for everyone to hear what is very specific for F1 as a sport.
Imagine we could hear everything players in other sports say to each other. That will never be allowed for obvious reasons.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
25th July 2024, 19:30
It’s all very self inflicted from Verstappen, sorta…
He’s been a dominant unflappable force for a couple of seasons, it’s what we’ve come to expect. Of course there will be things said as and when he has a bad race, especially when he makes it sound very self inflicted.
It happens, I’m sure he’ll be performing to his usual standard in Spa this weekend, a track he seems to like.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
25th July 2024, 20:09
I found it appalling that Crofty kept talking about it, like a driver cannot have an off weekend or whatever. What does he know? An elite athlete knows his limits more than anyone. It’s not like he was partying hard somewhere… Who knows maybe such thing generally helps him, to relax or whatever.
Nick T.
25th July 2024, 21:54
Crofty & Kravitz…two, very neutral observers. I don’t think I could even tell you which drivers they root for…I mean, I could, would and have, bur we all already know there’s no objectivity to be had from the Sky crew (and don’t you dare accidentally call them the ITV crew as I’ve learned).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th July 2024, 22:30
Indeed, if there’s a driver who’s hardly ever off form, that driver is verstappen, he has a lot less off weekends\mistakes than other top drivers.
Anthony
26th July 2024, 1:43
F1 TV commentators are way better. I have huge respect for Brundle but the rest of them are nowhere near the quality of F1 TV’s team.
Nick T.
26th July 2024, 5:36
Yup, I listen to the F1TV/Palmer, Coulthard, Buscombe, etc. feed. They’re not perfect and are all British, but they’re 100x more objective. Also, like you, I really like Brundle. It’s too bad the rest ruin it.
Applebook
26th July 2024, 6:53
David Coulthard? The same guy who often doesn’t even know what tires the drivers are on, and who tried to blame Hamilton for Max’s divebomb in Hungary, and the same guy who insists that Lance Stroll is a very good driver? That guy?
Nick T.
26th July 2024, 21:45
Oh, wow, zing!
Addme (@dontme)
25th July 2024, 20:26
He is right about the sim racing and race prep. He knows better than most and I certainly won’t disagree. I do think his frustrated radio messages sounded very disrespectful and childish. But I can imagine that is exactly how Marko talks to eveybody, so maybe it’s considered normal.
Nick T.
25th July 2024, 21:57
Austrians are frank to what some consider the point of rudeness, but they’re not big on whining and screaming, unless they’ve got an Herr in front of their name. Though speaking of which, I could definitely see Marko going by Herr Marko. I could also see him being a great WWII reenactment actor for the high command of a certain regime. lol
MacLeod (@macleod)
26th July 2024, 7:48
As are the Dutch they say what is on their mind and doesn’t cammo their comments…
MichaelN
26th July 2024, 11:15
Eh, that’s often just an excuse for being a bit boorish. If one goes around the Netherlands cussing at people and saying whatever is on one’s mind it’s not going to win one many friends.
André
25th July 2024, 23:29
In my opinion this is a fault in Dutch culture. Yes, they’re direct, and directness is valuable. I prefer that over the British obsession with politeness over honesty. However, some people use that positive cultural Dutch trait as carte blanche for being outright impolite and even insulting. Max gave a very good example of that in Hungary. I think he went over what’s reasonable.
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
26th July 2024, 0:03
Maybe you are right. For me as being Dutch Max put in his (our) way of saying: Strategy is bad, the car is bad, trying to save the race now. For me it was simple and direct, easy to understand, however some Dutch, into more modern polite style of communicating, will agree with you.
MadMax (@madmax)
26th July 2024, 7:05
There is a big difference between being direct and using foul language like the swearing bully is used to.
Osnola
26th July 2024, 10:47
Its mostly between your ears i guess. Yes he is very outspoken and filled with adrenaline his words not always follow the pr puppy talk like lewis uses.
MadMax (@madmax)
26th July 2024, 12:44
Between my ears? When FIA needs to beep over half of his radio messages all the time? Thats delusional…
MichaelN
26th July 2024, 11:20
Plus one has to keep in mind that a native speaker might have half a dozen words in their vocabulary to communicate various nuances, whereas someone else might only go from great to good to bad to a disaster. That’s good enough for most cases.
But anyway, it’s pretty obvious that SkyUK would have made an issue out of whatever else if it allowed them to moan about Verstappen.
UlfberhtLovesSteel
26th July 2024, 1:43
Could it be as simple as a combination of youth, extreme competitiveness, obsession with perfection, a demanding personality, coupled with an upbringing that fostered dominance over everything at all costs? I’m not an RB or MV fan, but I have to speculate if having to carry the team points by himself, the nasty friction between HM, CH, and JV, sandwiched between an understeering car, and the pressure of trying to continue his championship dynasty isn’t more the culprit instead of his iRacing.
SteveP
26th July 2024, 19:06
RobinT
26th July 2024, 4:04
When friends ask what I like about F1, I usually say the garages, the work of the mechanics, the sound, the speed…. You know what I never say? That I like the petty gossip, the immature/egotistical drivers, the media over-dramatizing everything, and a sport that is increasingly trying to appeal to a 14 year old demographic. So, no, I don’t care about what Verstappen does in his spare time, nor that he acts like a child whose parent won’t buy him a toy. I just wish that I could watch a race without constantly having to hear about it.
kuvemar
26th July 2024, 6:01
Well, you picked the wrong sport because what you mention has been an integral part of F1 for decades and is a huge part of its appeal.
Osnola
26th July 2024, 10:49
Only partly true. The emphasis on the on track communication is something recent.
The way dts scripted the storylines played a part here..
Mayrton
26th July 2024, 7:49
Wait, I forgot to get my popcorn to read this comment section… I have high expectations of some solid trash talk from very predictable contributors on this forum
anon
26th July 2024, 9:20
Looks like you are deliberately trying to start trouble again with your usual posting.
Osnola
26th July 2024, 10:50
But he was spot on!
Mayrton
26th July 2024, 12:30
Oh come on, you know this sites deliberately and frequently launches articles with inflammatory titles to get the Hamilton crew to vent their dislike for this ‘how dare he challenge the great’ non UK driver. Best is to grab the popcorn and have a laugh at it. It all has become so predictable.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 9:46
I don’t like the language. I will take Max on his word and don’t think the late night was necessarily to blame. I’ve re-watched the move on Hamilton from Max’s onboard and I may have been too harsh to call it impatient. There was more time, but considering they were both passing that back marker, Max made an instinctive racer’s move that looked on until Lewis squeezed him that little bit. I think I see what the stewards saw and that it was a racing incident. It’s still worth being more careful around certain drivers. Lewis isn’t a push-over and will not make it easy. Questions around stewarding remain, however, especially Max’s penalty in Austria when Lando was lunging left, right and centre.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 10:15
Commentary around Lewis and Alonso raises questions, too. They’re both ruthless, will push the rules to the limit and are not always honest in what they say, but there’s a night and day difference in how they are treated by commentators.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2024, 11:44
The counter to that point is Norris had to make such ridiculous moves because Verstappen was “cheating” by moving around under braking thereby forcing Norris to make his moves late in the braking zones. I’d say Lewis is actually one of the fairest racers on grid, many other drivers seem to be able to pass him without contact and he does at least admit fault occasionally unlike many of todays rather unclassy drivers.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 12:55
I would consider Prost and Lauda classy drivers. All of these young ones? The jury is out. They drive like they’re in a video game, as opposed to a computer simulation, even!
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2024, 11:41
Personally I think there is two issues at the core here.
Under some countries laws an employer as duty of care towards their employer so to an extent Red Bull Racing are responsible for the safety of their drivers and this is legally binding. As such if Verstappen is allowed to race in one of their cars when not in a good state of health or fit state of mind to an extent it causes injury or harm to others then they would be potentially liable for legal recourse. Now I’m not saying a late night makes Verstappen a danger but they are responsible for ensuring that Max is in a fit state to drive and getting enough sleep is a fair point to query.
The second point here is Red Bull have a duty of care to ensure their employees are not abused at work. Verstappen frequently speaks to his engineer in a derogatory manner while he is in a position of power due to his worth to the team. This is an abuse of a position of power (bullying) over other colleagues and is not something that would or should be seen as acceptable by any company. Now to an extent GP and Verstappen have a rather relaxed relationship so perhaps there is no complaint from GP at present but if he did feel Verstappen went too far could he even complain.
Ultimately I don’t think a late night sim racing is an issue for Verstappen’s performance but I think Red Bull have to get on top of his manner and demeanor with his colleagues and if getting a late night makes him more likely to be short with his teammates then perhaps he should consider not doing it. I’m pretty sure Max has no concept of power abuse in the workplace, such is how sheltered is upbringing has been.
SteveP
26th July 2024, 19:13
While it isn’t “workplace” I think it’s well documented that Max is more than familiar with power abuse, so much so that he thinks it’s normal.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 20:47
On Red Bull’s legal obligations when Max goes to bed late and probably gets a full night’s sleep: rubbish.