Red Bull’s Helmut Marko emphasizes the critical need for a summer pause as tensions spike in Hungary.
Red Bull “urgently” needs the Formula 1 summer break to arrive, admitted its advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, on Sunday.
Max Verstappen was visibly and audibly frustrated throughout the weekend in Hungary, but his anger escalated into fury during and after the race.
McLaren dominated on Sunday, leaving Verstappen loudly complaining about his performance and strategy on the radio.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said Verstappen’s behavior on the radio, described as “childish” by the Dutch driver’s own engineer, was “embarrassing.”
“He should be happy he could still continue the race,” said the German after the incident between Verstappen and Hamilton.
“When he’s having a bad day, everyone is his enemy and it’s never his fault. A retirement might have calmed him down a bit.”
Normally, after a bad day in the cockpit, Verstappen vents his frustration on the radio but generally supports his team. However, in Hungary, his criticisms of Red Bull Racing were sustained.
“I said on Saturday that there are people who are not aware that we need more performance in the car,” Verstappen repeated. “Some people in our team need to question themselves, I believe. Too many mistakes are made. I still don’t understand the strategy.”
Attempting to soothe tempers, Marko says it is “clear” that Verstappen’s failed race strategy “was our mistake.”
“All the simulations showed a different delta regarding the difference between worn and new tires. I haven’t discussed it with Max in depth yet, but he knows this can happen.”
“It was not the case, and we were unable to overtake Hamilton. It’s our mistake, and the position in which Max returned to the track after the first pit stop was also our fault. We acknowledge that we made a mistake. But it was a gross misjudgment on his part regarding the overtaking,” Marko said.
Marko admits he understands Verstappen’s frustration “but it’s not necessary to express it over the radio.”
Some, like 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, have criticized Verstappen for a “lack of professionalism” for staying up until almost 3:30 am on Sunday morning to participate in a stint in the virtual 24 Hours of Spa.
Verstappen responded to his critics by saying “they can all fuck off.”
“It’s an interesting dynamic. The more the weekend went on, the more annoyed Max got,” notes Rosberg.
“And now he becomes rude. On the team radio, there were also messages that were almost below the belt.”
Schumacher agrees: “Tempers need to calm down. Max needs to think about it, and then they need to find a way forward together.”
Marko believes the summer break, coming up after this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, couldn’t be more timely.
“We urgently need this break. In the first three races, we thought we would have exactly the same season as last year, but then there was a sudden turnaround. Max is not used to this, and we are not used to having to fight so hard with our competitors.”
“Of course, fans and the press enjoy this kind of battle, but we have to endure it and deal with the situation. We are still leading both championships. There are still many races left, so we shouldn’t act as if all is lost. But it is clear that we can no longer afford to make any mistakes.”
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Red Bull F1 – Hungary Flare-Up Signals Need for Break Red Bull F1 – Hungary Flare-Up Signals Need for Break
