At the Dutch GP practice and qualifying, Red Bull struggled. However, unlike previous races, Max Verstappen did not flip. He didn’t lose his temper and sounded fairly calm on the team radio while talking to Gianpiero Lambiase. That’s because the Dutchman took up a new interest to mitigate his angry radios.
Verstappen sounded unhappy with Red Bull’s performance as recently as the Hungarian GP, last month. He kept swearing on the mic and even punched the steering wheel out of pure frustration. Several experts condemned this, and the FIA even intervened, talking about new rules that would prevent drivers from doing something similar.
Ahead of the Dutch GP, when Verstappen was asked why he sounded calmer, he replied, “I do a lot of yoga and meditation lately”.
Q: Compared to previous races, you sound pretty calm on the radio. Is that because you’ve accepted the new situation?”
Max: “I do a lot of yoga and meditation lately”
THIS GUYHDSH pic.twitter.com/vW2QqwJWbZ
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) August 24, 2024
He let out a small laugh, and some wondered if he was joking. But going by his activities on social media, he wasn’t. The 26-year-old started following accounts dedicated to yoga, which fans noticed and shared online.
“I do my best to be competitive and the team does the same. Let’s stay united to improve the situation,” he added.
Max: “Am I calmer on my radio? I’ve done a lot of yoga and meditation. I do my best to be competitive and the team does the same. Let’s stay united to improve the situation.”
He’s definitely still unfazed at that Instagram story#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/RvlNV35X0c
— RBR News (@redbulletin) August 24, 2024
Verstappen has sounded calm so far this weekend, despite Red Bull’s performance inferiority. The Dutch driver managed to put his car in P2 in qualifying, but he was three and a half tenths of a second behind McLaren’s Lando Norris. After the session, he admitted that Red Bull was just too slow compared to the Woking-based team.
Whether Verstappen continues being calm on Sunday’s race or not, remains to be seen. Even though he has publicly stated that he cannot match up to McLaren’s pace, he would be hoping to fight for a victory.
