Martin Brundle claims Max Verstappen has ‘quite a temper’

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton in April

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Max Verstappen still has “quite a temper” despite his dominant championship advantage, according to Martin Brundle. The Dutchman star hit back at his team over radio in qualifying after Red Bull made an error.

Christian Horner admitted the team didn’t have enough fuel for their post-session sample and were forced to abandon Verstappen’s final run. This appeared quick enough to secure pole position but was forced to start the race from P8.

After being told to pit, Verstappen launched a shocking tirade as he repeatedly swore at his mechanics. Verstappen continued his anger in the media pen, stressing mistakes “shouldn’t happen” before claiming he was “not happy”.

Brundle said: “Max Verstappen should have been on pole position but staying out on track for most of the final Q3 12 minutes meant that he was forced to abandon his final pole lap two corners from home in order to have enough fuel for the mandatory scrutineering checks.

“Cue an extremely unhappy championship leader, and he let the team know in no uncertain terms. Barely underneath the surface of the calm and serene 2022 Max 2.0 is still quite a temper, but actually my take on that, as he heads to an inevitable second championship, is just how much pain a lost pole position and potential victory means to him despite his and the team’s current dominance.”

Verstappen then continued to blame Red Bull’s mishap for their poor race performance on Sunday. The reigning champion struggled to work his way through the midfield and was then caught up in a tense tussle with Lando Norris.

Verstappen eventually locked up his front tyres when attempting a move and dropped back outside the top 10.

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The reigning champion fought back to P7 but the result ended his chances of winning the title in Singapore.

He explained: “It’s not where we want to be. It all starts from yesterday. You put yourself in a spot like that and it can either work brilliantly, you can drive back to the front, or be very frustrating like we had. (P7) is better than eighth but it’s not what I’m here for. With a car like that and what we showed in practice. It’s just incredibly messy.”

However, the Red Bull driver is still likely to win the championship this weekend in Japan. He needs to outscore Charles Leclerc by just six points to secure his second crown meaning victory on Sunday would likely be enough.

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