F1 Champion Max Verstappen Called Childish, Scolded On Radio While Racing [Video]
Formula 1 Racing is one of the celebrated motorsports around the world. It is also one of those sports where spectators often witness a lot of drama. One such incident happened recently during the Hungarian Grand Prix. During the race, Max Verstappen was heard arguing with his team engineer over the radio. The conversation between these two has now gone viral on the internet.
As per the report, Verstappen started the race from third on the grid and he soon overtook Lando Norris at the first corner. However, his team asked him to hand over the position back or else there would be interventions from the stewards for gaining an advantage.
Verstappen was probably not completely on board with the team strategy and was later heard arguing with the team engineer over the radio.
The argument started after the Dutchman was pitted later than Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and this meant he was behind them. Verstappen, after getting back on the track, overtook Leclerc in the closing stages of the race. He was battling with Lewis Hamilton and in a bid to overtake him, Verstappen pulled off a move into turn 1.
However, he out-braked himself and collided with Hamilton. The collision invited an investigation from the stewards. Verstappen told his engineer that he moved under braking. Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase dismissed and branded Verstappen “childish” on the radio. The reports say that even after the race, tensions between the driver and the engineer were high and they had an argument over this too.
The Crash
In this crash, Verstappen went airborne and crashed into Hamilton’s car. The crash is currently under investigation and there is a high chance that he may have to face a position drop if they issue a post-race time penalty. Lambiase, in a sarcastic tone, spoke to Verstappen over the team radio.
Lambiase said, “I understand the medical delegate needs to have a look at you and examine you under Parc fermé conditions when he gets out.” To this Verstappen responded, “We can send the medical delegate to the stewards’ team and they can have a look. Or are they all okay?”
The race was really important to Verstappen as it would have helped him counter a McLaren one-two by earning a podium. However, Verstappen clearly struggled with the pace in the opening stages of the race.
Gianpiero Lambiase is usually not a person who is heard over the radio. He is usually very silent but, in this race, there were several conversations between the pair about the car balance throughout the race.
Max is also very unhappy with Red Bull’s reactionary strategy to Mercedes, having eventually lost out to their powerful undercut by pitting several laps later in the first stint. The pair is usually known to exchange sarcastic messages over the radio. However, it looks like Verstappen was really annoyed by the team strategy and also the poor car balance that he kept on talking about throughout the race. Verstappen finished fifth in the race.