SPA, BelgiumRed Bull has not prohibited Formula One world champion Max Verstappen from simulating races during grand prix weekends, as far as he is aware.
“pretty well what I can and what I cannot do.”
In preparation for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen raced virtually with his sim team, Team Redline, till three in the morning on Sunday. Grand Prix action started at 3 p.m. local time. He frequently competes in large events, drives a campervan equipped with a rig to F1 races throughout Europe, and is an enthusiastic sim racer.
During a challenging Hungarian Grand Prix, some analysts (most notably on Sky Sports’ broadcast) questioned the decision to remain up so late. Verstappen finished fifth in the race after clashing with Lewis Hamilton and expressing his dissatisfaction with Red Bull’s strategy calls.
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko wrote a post-Hungary editorial for the company’s website Speed Week. He stated it was “no wonder” that Verstappen’s statement that he would “no longer perform simulations so late in the future” had sparked criticism given the outcome.
Verstappen stated on Thursday at Spa that racing simulations so late was
“not something new” for him and that sim racing was “something very important in my life.”
He refuted claims that Red Bull had enforced a prohibition or curfew, stating that because no further races were scheduled, they
“don’t need to worry.”
“It’s not like I have a ban or whatever,” Verstappen said. “I also don’t need to tell them what they do in their private time and during the weekends. That’s the same for me.”
He refuted claims that Red Bull had enforced a prohibition or curfew, stating that because no further races were scheduled, they
“It’s always when you don’t win the race, you will blame it on, ‘Ah, you were staying up until 3 a.m., oh he’s one kilo overweight,’” Verstappen said. “There is always things to make up that you know you can argue about when you don’t win a race. But for example, at Imola, I do win the race, both of them. So, for me, this is not something new. I’ve been doing this since 2015.
“This is not something that is any different in my preparation. I’ve won three world championships. I think I know pretty well what I can and what I cannot do, and I’m always very hard on myself what is allowed and isn’t allowed.
“I think with all the experience that I have in Formula One, I think I know quite well what is possible.”
No change in Verstappen’s radio approach
Concerning his radio communications to Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, during the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen also had to answer to inquiries. After being undercut twice in the pits, the driver began to consistently dispute the strategy calls made by the team.
After the race, Verstappen said he was irritated with the strategy used and that anybody who suggested he was disrespectful of the team could “f— off.”
Looking back on Hungary on Thursday, Verstappen believed it was “quite clear the strategy was wrong” from the team and that he was “very driven” to succeed.
He said if people did not like his language, then “don’t listen in, turn the volume down,” and he did not anticipate any changes in his approach going forward.
“We are very open-minded, very critical of each other, and that’s been working for us very well,” Verstappen said. “So I don’t expect that to change. That’s our approach.
“I think it’s important you can be critical because in this world we are living now, I feel anyway a lot of people can’t take criticism anymore like it used to be, and I don’t want to end up like that.”
Verstappen promised to talk about what transpired in Hungary with Lambiase.
“like we always do” once his engineer arrives at the track on Thursday but that it was “quite normal” to look back on events.
‘You have to act like a world champion’
Given the recent ascent of Norris and McLaren, who currently seem to have the fastest car despite trailing in the early part of the season, Verstappen’s irritation in Hungary was a reflection of the mounting pressure on him and Red Bull at the top of the F1 pack.
Hamilton, Verstappen’s last title opponent, offered his advice on how to handle a decline in car performance in the middle of the season, saying:
“You have to be a team leader, a team member.
“Maybe not so much a team leader, but more so just always remember you are a teammate with lots of people, and you have to act like a world champion.”
Asked what that is, Hamilton laughed and replied: “That’s a good question. Not like it was last weekend.”
Verstappen is aware that his advantage in the championship over Lando Norris will narrow at Spa because he will have to serve a 10-place grid penalty for using more engines than the season allotted.
In contrast to the previous two years, when he won despite a grid drop, the Dutchman stated it was “probable” he would accept the penalty today given how simple it was to pass, but he did not think victory was conceivable.
“If you look at our last few races where we haven’t particularly been the fastest, I wouldn’t say that with 10 places extra, we have a chance of winning,” he said.
Top photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
