Max Verstappen was angry, really angry. He didn’t win again, the rebellious McLaren duo was much too fast, and then there was the crash with his old rival Lewis Hamilton: Verstappen experienced a race to forget in Hungary – and is now demanding more effort from Red Bull.
“We have to work,” said Verstappen, who only finished fifth in Budapest and had been constantly complaining about his car and the strategy during the race: “I mean, it’s not like we can suddenly have new upgrades on the car next weekend, so yes, that’s a problem.”
Verstappen now heads to his second home race next Sunday in Spa with a “only” 76-point lead in the World Championship over Lando Norris. It is the last Grand Prix before the summer break in Formula 1. And Red Bull can probably use that. After all, the last time Verstappen had three races in a row without a win was three years ago.
“We know that we are behind McLaren and that is of course not nice,” said Verstappen after the traditional racing team’s double victory. He also expects that he will be “behind” in the duel with Hungary winner Oscar Piastri and Norris at Spa: “Of course I am not happy.” At least: Verstappen was not given a penalty by the race stewards for his accident with Hamilton, which probably cost him third place.
“If some people don’t like it …”
Nevertheless, his nerves are frayed. When asked whether he wanted to apologize to his team for his angry radio messages, Verstappen waved it off.
“I don’t think we have to apologize. We just have to do a better job. I don’t know why people think you can’t be loud on the radio. It’s a sport, you know?” said the 26-year-old. “If some people don’t like it, then they should stay at home.”
Source: www.sport.de
