Pressure builds on Verstappen as Red Bull’s advantage wanes

When it comes to matters of racing, Max Verstappen is in the habit of speaking his mind.

If his car isn’t quick enough, the engineers will know about it. If his race strategy shuffles him backwards, the pit wall had better listen up. And if he collides with another driver, the stewards will be fully aware of his side of the story.

There’s no space for grey areas, no time for excuses, no accepting second best.

And if there happens to be anyone who doesn’t like the way he goes racing, or anyone who takes offence at the comments he makes over team radio, or anyone who thinks he should approach his craft in a different manner … well, in Verstappen’s own words, “They can all f— off.”

Such a binary view of such a complex sport can be problematic, but it was in full effect as Verstappen spoke to the media after Formula One‘s Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. It was Verstappen’s third consecutive race without a victory, and he seemed intent on using the occasion as a wake-up call for his Red Bull team.

The last time he had such a long wait for a win was in the three races leading up to his championship showdown with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the 2½ seasons since then, Verstappen has become accustomed to winning, and he and the team have reached unimaginable highs during that period.

Now, though, Red Bull’s rivals have caught up, meaning mistakes no longer go unpunished and victories are anything but guaranteed. The situation is not yet at the point where Verstappen’s march to a fourth world title looks under threat, but it has started to reveal some cracks in the dynamic between driver and team.

As was the case in Austria two races ago, Verstappen blamed a collision-induced fifth-place finish on the failings of the team’s strategy.

“We didn’t have the pace to fight McLaren today, but then I think we could still have had a P3,” he said. “The wrong strategy calls put me on the back foot where I constantly had to fight people, try to overtake, but it didn’t work.”

Lando Norris finishing second to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri limited the damage to Verstappen’s championship lead, which still stands at a very healthy 76 points, the equivalent of three race victories and one fastest lap. Even with such a large buffer, though, Verstappen sees Red Bull’s recent dip as a serious concern and hinted that some Red Bull team members didn’t seem to share his level of urgency in turning the situation around.

“I already said…