Verstappen Frustrated With Red Bull Strategy After Hungarian GP Finish

Max Verstappen expressed his anger at Red Bull's strategy after finishing fifth at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He stated that the team can no longer depend on a pace advantage. Verstappen's result at the Hungaroring was his joint second-worst finish of the year, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing a McLaren one-two.

The three-time world champion's race was marked by a collision with Lewis Hamilton. The incident occurred on lap 63 when Verstappen overshot a corner while attempting to overtake the Mercedes driver. Over team radio, he vented his frustrations to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, saying, "You gave me this s*** strategy. I'm trying to rescue what's left."

Speaking to Sky Sports post-race, Verstappen stood by his comments. He remarked, "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."

Verstappen also dropped below Charles Leclerc late in the race. He continued, "I'm not happy. On a day when we're lacking pace compared to McLaren, you hope we do the right things with strategy, which was not the case." He added that relying on a slight pace advantage is no longer feasible.

Reflecting on Red Bull's current position, Verstappen noted that last year their car was significantly faster than others. However, given their current situation, they cannot depend on that anymore. This reality frustrates him as he wants improvements in their approach.

Race Results and Reflections

The eventful race in Budapest saw Max finishing fifth and Checo driving from P16 to P7. The final results were Piastri first, Norris second, Hamilton third, Leclerc fourth, Verstappen fifth, Sainz sixth, Checo seventh, Russell eighth, Tsunoda ninth and Stroll tenth.

Verstappen acknowledged that beating McLarens was unrealistic for them today but believed that securing third place was possible with better strategy execution.

"Maybe last year when the car was quite a lot faster than everyone else," he said. "But in the position we are in now, we can't do that."

The Dutchman emphasised his desire for better performance from the team moving forward.