Max Verstappen was repeatedly critical of his car and the strategy choices of his Red Bull team during the Hungarian GP; the Dutchman said that he didn't need to apologise and that people who dislike his conduct should "stay home"
Monday 22 July 2024 09:27, UK
Max Verstappen refused to apologise for his language over team radio during the Hungarian Grand Prix, before dismissing external criticism with a further expletive-laden post-race rant.
The Red Bull driver became increasingly frustrated during Sunday's McLaren-dominated race at the Hungaroring as he dropped back from third on the grid to finish fifth following a late collision with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen repeatedly used colourful language to criticise the performance of the RB20 car that has helped him build a 76-point lead at the top of the drivers' standings, and then also lamented the strategic choices made by the Red Bull pit wall during the race.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 if he would apologise to his colleagues for his radio conduct, Verstappen replied: "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 you cannot be vocal on a radio. This is a sport. If some people don't like that then stay home."
Then speaking to the written media a short time later, Verstappen was pressed for a reaction to external criticism suggesting he had gone too far with his messages.
He replied: "They can all **** off."
Despite most neutral observers believing Verstappen was primarily to blame for his collision with Hamilton after a big lock-up preceded it, the Dutchman was critical of his old rival and suggested the Mercedes driver was guilty of moving under braking.
Verstappen, who was speaking before the stewards decided not to give him or Hamilton a penalty, compared to the incident to his with Lando Norris at last month's Austrian Grand Prix, for which he was penalised for causing.
"I got a lot of **** thrown at me in Austria with people saying moving under braking, blah blah blah," he said. "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."
After winning four of the first five races of the season, Verstappen appeared likely to continue the remarkable dominance of the sport he has enjoyed over the past two seasons, but has instead been dragged into a thrilling battle.
His failure to win on Sunday meant that it was the first time since the closing stages of his 2021 title battle with Hamilton that he had gone three successive races without a victory, while the two-race winless streak alone was his first since July 2022.
While Verstappen accepted that he didn't have the pace to stop Oscar Piastri and Norris bringing home a one-two for McLaren, he felt that poor strategy choices cost him what should have been a straightforward podium finish in third.
"Of course I'm not happy," he told Sky Sports F1.
"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.
"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."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner refused to criticise Verstappen as he was pressed after the race on whether the Dutchman had gone too far and possesses too much power within the team.
"Max was frustrated, which you can understand," Horner said as he insisted the team's debrief would remain private.
"He has a very direct line of communication with his engineer. So that's something that they'll discuss between the two of them."
Verstappen has shared many colourful and entertaining conversations with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during their eight seasons working together, but Sunday's exchanges appeared to become more heated than usual.
Lambiase at one point used the word "childish" in his response to a Verstappen complaint, but Horner claimed the phrase was not directed at the driver.
"I think that GP [Lambiase] at that point wasn't actually referring to Max," Horner said. "I think he was referring to others on the radio complaining about penalties.
"So, I don't think GP's reference at that point was in reference to Max. Others obviously goading for penalties because the stewards are listening to the radio as well.
"They've been together for eight years. There are things that we could have done better in the race today but it's something we'll talk about as a team."
Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff thought that Verstappen's suggestion that those who didn't like his radio messages should "go home" was disrespectful.
She said: "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."
While Schiff sympathised with the scrutiny F1 drivers face in having their messages made public during the heat of competition, she believes Verstappen could choose his words more carefully.
"We know that GP has been getting a lot of incoming from Max in the past and they've always said that's the relationship they have and that's fine," she said.
"But there might be other people on that radio who are also listening who are on that team who don't like being spoken to like that.
"I don't think it's cool. I know as a driver when you've got your helmet on it's a heated environment. Football players don't have microphones on their shirts. I'm sure if we would hear every one of their thoughts we would hear a lot of colourful words.
"But in this sport you do have radio mic that's going out to the whole world, all your fans including kids."
The action continues next weekend with the final race before F1's summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch every session from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1 from July 26-28. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
