Max Verstappen may need to go back to the Red Bull garage with his tail between his legs after easing to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix – less than 24 hours after venting his frustration as he missed out on pole to Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen has been the man to beat in F1 all year and was going for a record sixth-consecutive pole position in Hungary, only to be pipped by Hamilton.
It was a surprise result for both drivers, although Verstappen stated that he hadn’t felt comfortable in the car all weekend building up to qualifying. He took out his frustration on Red Bull, insisting his team needed to up their game.
He said after qualifying: “We’re still second, but I think we should be ahead with the car we have normally, but so far this weekend I think we haven’t been on it. “I think the update works, but I think we just really didn’t put everything together setup-wise because I just think today everything has just been all over the shop and not exactly where we wanted to be.”
His frustration ‘amused’ Red Bull technical leader Paul Monaghan, who stated Verstappen was made aware of the ‘trade-offs’ the team made with the upgrades to the car. Monaghan went on to suggest that Red Bull’s setup was more focused on Sunday’s race and appeared to urge Verstappen to reserve judgement until after the Grand Prix.
“That means that today at the end of the stage we will see whether the compromises were right. We will probably know that just before you do.” And it didn’t take long for Verstappen to return to his usual place at the front of the grid, getting a move on Hamilton into the very first corner.
The two-time world champion never looked back from that point, holding the lead from the first lap until the last. His victory also gives Red Bull a new record of 12 consecutive victories in F1, beating the previous record held by McLaren from 1988.
