Max Verstappen Fumes At Red Bull As He Refuses To Apologize After Hungarian GP

During a chaotic and dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s escalated frustration with his team was boiling over, culminating in a fifth-place finish after a late collision with rival Lewis Hamilton.

The Red Bull driver was vocally critical over the team radio throughout the race, later defending his pointed remarks and outright refusing to apologize for his fiery conduct in a post-race interview.

Verstappen, who started third on the grid, faced a series of setbacks due to pit stop decisions and performance issues with his Red Bull RB20 car, which he felt hindered his chances at a better position. Whilst speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, the three-time champion commented:

“Of course I’m not happy. On a day when we’re already lacking pace compared to McLaren, you try and hope we do the right things with the strategy which today was not the case.

“To be undercut was not ideal but maybe you get caught out ok. We tried to go a bit longer but my pace was not very good.

Third placed qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing attends the press conference after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 20, 2024 in Budapest,… BRYN LENNON/GETTY IMAGES
“I’m realistic. Today we couldn’t have beaten the McLarens, but a P3 was on the cards if we would have been on it a bit more.”

The race was fraught with tension, particularly highlighted by Verstappen’s collision with Lewis Hamilton, which miraculously resulted in no penalties for either driver. Verstappen staunchly defended his maneuver, drawing parallels to an earlier season incident involving Lando Norris.

“I got a lot of **** thrown at me in Austria with people saying moving under braking, blah blah blah. I am positioning my car on the initial movement and then I keep it straight.

“Today, under braking he just kept turning to the right and that is why I also locked up because I was going for the move, but I saw the car on the outside kept coming at me. Otherwise, we would’ve already crashed before. I had to stop the car so that is why I locked up.”

When pressed by Sky Sports F1 regarding whether he would extend an apology to his team, Verstappen’s response was blunt and dismissive of external criticisms about his radio etiquette.

“I don’t think we need to apologize. I just think we need to do a better job.

“I don’t know why people think you cannot be vocal on a radio. This is a sport. If some people don’t like that then stay home.”

Verstappen’s comments have sparked a considerable backlash, with F1 pundit Naomi Schiff critiquing his attitude:

“Thinking about what Max said about ‘staying home’, I don’t know if he’s referring to the team members who don’t like that or the fans, but I find that quite a disrespectful message.”

“He’s got to remember that there’s no ‘I’ in team, and while he is their top driver and they always put him forwards, he’s got to remember that there are loads of people working behind him.

“You need to keep the team on your side and if you talk to people like that and say things like that you get them offside.”