“There is no room for nonsense”: Max Verstappen’s controversial outburst against Red Bull is defended by his teammate

“It completely messed up my race,” Max Verstappen had said it over the team radio in Budapest. The Dutchman was in a riotous mood as he dropped from third to fifth place when Red Bull’s race strategy backfired. The 26-year-old’s tirade, directed at his crew, became a topic of discussion that divided the F1 world. Some of Max’s critics even accused him of mistreating his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and the rest of the Red Bull entourage in the pits.

Verstappen’s weekend in Budapest did not go well from the moment he entered the Hungarian capital. He was second behind Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in the first and second laps of Friday’s free practice session. But he fell even further back on Saturday, finishing P3 in the third practice session. Ultimately, both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri passed in qualifying with their McLaren Max, and the Red Bull driver started the Hungarian GP from third place. He hoped to improve on that position and win the race, but Red Bull’s tyre strategy let him down.

When Max Verstappen fell out of the podium places, he became angry and blamed his team’s tactics. He told Lambiase over the team radio: “You gave me this shitty strategy, okay? I’m trying to save what’s left. Shit.“While his critics have been annoyed by Max’s behaviour, two Red Bull teammates have now come forward to defend the Dutch Lion’s comments. Twin brothers Jon and Matt Caller, who act as Verstappen’s first mechanics, came to his aid to save him from the harsh criticism Max faced following his outburst at the Hungarian GP.

The Caller brothers told Telegraaf: “He (Max Verstappen) was recently heavily criticized for ranting about the on-board radio in Budapest. But let’s be honest: is it fair to judge someone in the heat of the moment based on a few on-board radios? Max demands the utmost from himself, but also from us. His outbursts are nothing personal and everyone knows that. There is no room for nonsense with him, that is what makes him so good.” Their statement was supplemented by comments from the two mechanics about Max Verstappen’s racing talent – so what did they say?

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull mechanics swear he is “AI perfect”

Max Verstappen made his Formula 1 debut at the unimaginable age of 17 and has broken records to get to where he is today. And in the words of Jon and Matt Caller, the Dutchman is the epitome of an ideal racing driver. They said: “Do you know what this is: If you asked AI (Artificial intelligence) a Formula 1 world champion would be Max Verstappen. This boy lives and breathes racing. He always tells it like it is and only wants to win.”

But Max Verstappen’s penchant for “Live and breathe racing,” both on and off the track, may have affected him during his performance at the Hungarian GP. He could barely sleep a wink the night before Sunday’s main race as he raced online for his sim racing team, Team Redline. But Max disputed the notion that staying up late caused his defeat in Budapest. He said: “Whenever you don’t win the race, you blame it on staying up until 3 a.m..”

So Max Verstappen is trying to balance his regular F1 racing career and his sim racing career. But do you think he can do it?