Red Bull brought a major upgrade at the Hungarian GP. Yet, Max Verstappen was nowhere near the front runners’ pace to compete for the win. The Dutchman was already frustrated with the qualifying, and the race strategy disaster further irritated him. Having said so much during and after the race, Verstappen felt he should have taken the matter into his own hands.
“The strategy was very bad”, he said according to Sport.orf.at. Suggesting how he plans on taking the strategy into his own hands, Verstappen added, “We have all the information, maybe I should’ve put it in the car and do it myself”.
“We should have done a better job”
A dejected Max Verstappen on a rare day of Red Bull strategy slip-ups #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/J6AITc8zoQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2024
Verstappen started on the same tires as the McLaren duo, but his first stint was extended. As a result, everyone in the top five undercut him and he had to make those positions back on track. By this time, Verstappen was already furious and wasn’t shy to show his disappointment on the radio.
The Red Bull driver hoped for the team to learn from the first pitstop. However, they did not and allowed Hamilton and Leclerc to undercut him once again. Verstappen again had the task to make up time and pass two cars on track for the podium.
Given the difficulty to overtake at the Hungaroring, it was not going to be easy for him. Still, he made it past Leclerc and was chasing Hamilton at a good pace. However, Verstappen’s frustration reached its peak when he collided with Hamilton towards the end of the race, which dropped him down to fifth.
Helmut Marko came out to clamp things down as he said that Red Bull desperately needs the summer break to recalibrate. Yet, controlling Verstappen was impossible as he slammed his critics after the race.
Verstappen’s blunt reply to critics following heated radio exchanges
Verstappen was constantly complaining to his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase about the car and the strategy. There were complaints regarding the car not turning well despite the brake balance being towards the rear. Then came the strategy disappointment as the three-time champion blamed the team for putting him on a ‘s**t’ strategy.
Verstappen was called out by fans and critics for slamming the team and then colliding with Hamilton. Many believed that the Dutchman dive-bombed Hamilton out of desperation and frustration. Verstappen only had a few words for the critics as he said, “They can all f**k off”.
Explaining the disappointment in the team’s strategy, he said, “I mean, of course, I’m annoyed but I’ve been annoyed before – sometimes you press in the radio to voice your opinion and that’s what I did today hoping that, maybe, the second pitstop will be a better call, but it wasn’t”, as per PlanetF1.
Verstappen suggested having a debrief with the team around the same. After dominating 2023 with good strategies and dominant pace advantage, Red Bull seem to be falling apart in all departments. With McLaren and other teams closing in fast on them, they need to bounce back desperately.
