Following the tumultuous race at the Hungaroring, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has defended Max Verstappen’s frustrated radio messages directed at his team. The reigning champion faced a challenging Hungarian Grand Prix, failing to beat McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in qualifying and struggling to keep pace with them during the race.
Verstappen found himself battling Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc instead. The fight for third place with Hamilton ended early when Mercedes called Hamilton in for a tire change. The pair clashed again in the final laps when Verstappen attacked Hamilton at Turn 1, locking up both front wheels and colliding with Hamilton. This incident caused Verstappen to drop to fifth place, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Throughout the race, Verstappen had several fiery exchanges with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Specifically, Verstappen criticized the McLarens and furthermore expressed frustration with Red Bull’s strategy, which he felt ultimately forced him to play catch-up after each pit stop.
“It was a very bad race. Everything went wrong,” Verstappen said. “The strategy was bad. We just know it’s very difficult to overtake here. I just had to try to fight. Lost so much time with that, even in that second stint.”
Verstappen’s frustration was evident in his radio communication. He expressed anger not just at the strategy but also at the responses he received from Lambiase. “Instead of them just trying to talk to me and maybe admit that it was not ideal, of course, that also calms me down. But then they also go against it. Yes, that’s totally the last straw for me then,” he said.
Horner, however, defended Verstappen’s outbursts, stating that he understands the frustration. “Max was frustrated, which is understandable. He has a direct line of communication with his engineer. This is something they discuss together. I don’t think that’s something for the media. Everyone sees that we need to perform better. Everyone is working hard on that. We will have all discussions behind closed doors.”
Horner also clarified a specific incident during the race when Lambiase described radio complaints as “childish.” “I don’t think GP was talking about Max at that moment. I think he was referring to others on the radio complaining about penalties. They [Verstappen and Lambiase] have been together for eight years. There are things we could have done better in the race today. But that is something we will talk about as a team.”
Key Radio Communications:
- Lap 54:
- GP: “Well, that’s some gentle introduction.”
- MV: “No mate, don’t give me that bullst now. You guys gave me this fking strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. For f**k’s sake.”
- Lap 63:
- MV: “Should you leave a car’s width?”
- GL: “We think you were behind at the apex, Max.”
- MV: “OK, whatever, mate.”
- Lap 65:
- MV: “He moved under braking.”
- GL: “I’m not 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.”
- Lap 70:
- GL: “I understand the medical delegate needs to have a look at you, examine you, under parc ferme conditions when you get out.”
- MV: “If they could send the medical delegate up to the stewards, maybe they can have a look if they are all okay.”
Despite the setbacks and frustrations, Verstappen and the Red Bull team are committed to addressing these issues internally and working towards better performance in future races.
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