Verstappen doubles down on Red Bull F1 wake-up call criticism

Max Verstappen has doubled down on his previous comments that some people in Red Bull aren’t on the same wavelength amid the team’s recent plight in Formula 1.

Verstappen cut a disgruntled individual throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend as Red Bull was unable to rival McLaren despite introducing new upgrades.

The Dutchman declared that “some people need to wake up a bit” in regard to Red Bull’s competitiveness as he was resigned to third on the grid behind the McLarens.

Verstappen’s temper boiled over during the race as he had several expletive-filled exchanges on the radio and then got involved in a late collision with Lewis Hamilton.

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But although he received criticism over his communication, Verstappen is certain he was well within his right to be agitated over Red Bull allowing him to be undercut.

“From my side, I think it was quite clear that the strategy was wrong, and I’m very driven, like everyone else in the team, that we want to try and be perfect,” he said.

“Now I know that every single race to do that is very, very hard. I think we came very close last year.

“But when things are not going how they should have been, I think it’s quite normal that you can share your frustration with it. And that’s what I did.”

Verstappen has not retracted his comment accusing select individuals of being complacent as he harbours hope that last weekend will be a wake-up call to Red Bull.

“I hope that with the latest performances anyway everyone is quite awake, we’re always pushing for improvements and optimise the car a bit better,” he added.

“Just hope we can improve the situation we’re in at the moment.”

Verstappen is convinced that Red Bull’s latest updates to the RB20 possess untapped potential that it was unable to extract due to a suboptimal set-up in Budapest.

“I mean looking back on the weekend, probably there are always a few things you could have done differently, with the set-up maybe, a few things we have to explore also.

“So yeah, I do hope of course that we learn a bit more from it. I also don’t say that they didn’t work, maybe we didn’t extract everything out of it.

“So yeah, we’ll try to have, in a way, of course a smoother weekend now even though that’s not going to be easy with the penalty.

“If we can find a bit more of a connected balance with the car than what it was in Hungary.”

The three-time F1 champion also suggested that the ‘cannons’ on the engine cover which were removed on his car at the Hungaroring will return at Spa-Francorchamps.

Asked whether reverting some parts was a planned arrangement, Verstappen concluded: “Yeah, some bits are designed for particular tracks.”