Freak-out in Hungary

Marko on Verstappen: “That’s nonsense!”

Helmut Marko (left) defends Max Verstappen.(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

Max Verstappen caused a stir with his verbal derailments at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After the race, there were rumors that the Formula 1 superstar had spent too much time simracing at night and was therefore not well-rested. "That's nonsense," countered Red Bull Head of Motorsport Helmut Marko.

His passion for simracing (racing with a simulator) is well known. According to "motorsport-total.com", Max Verstappen also took part in an online race in Hungary at 3 a.m. on Saturday night. Did the Dutchman suffer from a lack of sleep and was therefore so irritable during the Hungarian race?

"He has his sleep quota, and he had it as usual, that's nonsense," says Helmut Marko. The Austrian clarifies to ORF: "I don't know where the sleeping times have come from again, but he was up even longer in Imola and won the race. Max has a different rhythm to me or other people and the time he went to bed on Saturday is nothing out of the ordinary for him."

Max Verstappen(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"We trust his judgment"
 Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also has Verstappen's back: "I think people draw their conclusions, but Max knows what it takes and we trust his judgment. He knows what it takes to drive a Formula 1 car, win Grands Prix and become world champion."

Numerous outbursts
In Hungary, the Red Bull pits repeatedly felt Verstappen's frustration. Max hissed at his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over the pit radio, ranting about the team's strategy. "Everything sucks," was just one of the many comments that the three-time world champion made over the course of 70 laps. It was certainly not due to a lack of sleep ...