Criticism of Verstappen’s Behavior: ‘That’s Not the Right Approach’

The Hungarian Grand Prix was a thrilling race for many reasons. Lando Norris had to let Oscar Piastri pass, and Max Verstappen was unhappy with Red Bull Racing.

Former driver Martin Brundle thinks Verstappen was wrong to criticize his team on the radio after all their past successes. “He berated his long-suffering engineer and friend Gianpiero Lambiase, and the team who’ve given him every one of his race victories and three, probably soon-to-be four, world championships.”

Verstappen struggled in Hungary. He didn’t like Red Bull’s strategy that allowed Lewis Hamilton to undercut him, leading to an incident between them. In the heat of the moment, he expressed his frustration over the radio. Brundle commented on this behavior: “I’m such a fan of Max as a driver and a person, in awe of his talent, but I wish he didn’t treat the team like that. His legacy should be more sporting.”

Brundle on McLaren’s Decision

As someone who once drove for McLaren himself, Brundle had kinder words about Lando Norris letting Piastri through. He recalled managing David Coulthard during a similar situation at the 1998 Australian Grand Prix when Coulthard had to let Mika Häkkinen pass for a win. “I managed a driver at McLaren funnily enough who was absolutely duped into handing over a race victory; not that this was the case on Sunday.”

Fans might think it’s interesting how different drivers handle team orders.

Brundle also praised Andrea Stella’s leadership at McLaren: “McLaren has risen to be the team to beat on the grid these past few races because they’ve had a very strong team ethic and a calm, professional and methodical approach under the increasingly impressive Stella.”

What do you think about these drivers’ actions?