Max Verstappen’s dad gives view on son’s ‘road rage’ and radio rant at Red Bull chiefs

Max Verstappen makes subtle dig at Lewis Hamilton

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Max Verstappen’s dad Jos has defended his son’s ‘road rage’ during last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, claiming there was ‘nothing wrong’ with his behaviour. The Dutchman repeatedly swore at his Red Bull race engineers after his DRS flap failed to properly open during his battle with George Russell.

The flap would open and then close straight away when the reigning champion attempted to use it which delayed him from passing the Mercedes rookie. At one stage, Verstappen moaned:: “We can’t even make the **** DRS work, man. Unbelievable.”

However, former Benetton star Jos defended his son’s actions, claiming his radio meltdown was fully justified. Speaking on Verstappen’s official website, Jos said: “I have to say that I think Red Bull solved it insanely well. They changed the strategy.

“The decision to put Max on the softest tyre for the second time – in the third stint – gave him the chance to push. That way he grabbed his lead.

“I could understand his frustration at the start of the race. If things don’t go his way because of a problem, he’s the kind of guy who expresses his dissatisfaction. There is nothing wrong with that as far as I am concerned.

“He asks the utmost from the team, but that goes both ways. That’s why they are so successful together.” Red Bull had suffered from DRS failures across the whole weekend on Verstappen’s car.

The flap failed during qualifying which prevented the Dutchman from having one last attempt at bettering Leclerc’s time. The team changed four parts ahead of the race including two purely related to the DRS.

However, the issue returned in the opening stages of Sunday’s Grand Prix which forced the team to switch to a three-stop strategy on the fly.

DON’T MISS
Horner plays down Russell hype after thrilling scrap with Verstappen [INSIGHT]
Verstappen and Red Bull form ahead of Monaco GP is bad news at Ferrari [ANALYSIS]
Max Verstappen opens up on ‘weird’ Red Bull and Ferrari issues [COMMENT]

The reigning champion secured the win to move into the championship lead but this was more down to Leclerc’s shock retirement from the lead. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner vowed the team had to get on top of the issue as soon as possible.

He also justified Verstappen’s anger on team radio despite it being aimed directly at the team. Horner said: “He was venting his frustration and there was a little bit of road rage going on at points which is understandable, he must have hit the button about 50 times on one straight.”

Source: Read Full Article