Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was disappointed with achieving fifth position (P5) in the Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring Circuit, Budapest, Sunday (21/7). He also could not match the speed of the McLaren duo, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who finished 1 and 2.
Starting the 70-lap race in P3, Verstappen, who dominated Hungary in the previous two seasons, struggled to get his car under control, which led to an incident with his old rival Lewis Hamilton on lap 63, which saw him finish P5.
“On a day where we are already a bit off pace compared to McLaren, you try and of course hope we get the strategy right, but that wasn’t the case today,” Verstappen told the Formula 1 website in Jakarta on Monday (22/7).
“Maybe last year, yes, with a car that was a lot quicker than everyone else. But I think with the position we are in, we can’t do that anymore and I think that’s why today was a difficult race for us,” he continued.
“Of course it’s frustrating because I would have liked to have done things better because of course I’m realistic, today, we couldn’t beat McLaren but P3 I think would have been there if we had done a little bit more,” he added.
This result made the Dutch racer ask his team to “work” for better results in the next race at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, Belgium, on Sunday (28/7).
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“We’ll see next week how it develops, but at the moment, I think race pace, qualifying pace, we are behind McLaren,” he said.
The three-time world champion then spoke about his incident with Hamilton which saw his car flip over after hitting Hamilton’s front right wheel.
“I made a completely active move, but then in the middle of the braking zone, when I was already committed of course to the move, he suddenly kept moving to the right,” he explained.
Also read: Vertappen Wins Hungarian GP, Red Bull Records 12th Consecutive Win
“And if I wouldn’t have turned on the straight brake, I would have made contact with him. So I went airborne,” he continued.
Meanwhile, when asked if he planned to apologise to his team for his outburst on the radio, Verstappen refused.
“I don’t think we need to apologize. We just need to do a better job. I don’t know why people think you can’t be vocal on the radio. This is sports, you know? If some people don’t like it, then stay home,” he said.
Verstappen still leads the standings with 265 points, still ahead of Lando Norris in second place but now 76 points behind. (Ant/P-5)
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