F1 analyst says Max Verstappen’s surprising remark could demotivate Red Bull staff

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Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen endured one of their toughest weekends of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

During qualifying, it became clear that Red Bull hadn’t figured out why their drivers were having such a difficult time on track.

Verstappen was pleased just to make it into Q3 and ended up qualifying eighth. Yuki Tsunoda was only a fraction behind him, but still exited in Q1.

He lost ground early, something that rarely happens in his Formula 1 career.

The Dutchman managed to get past Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll during his first stint, but then got stuck behind Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber and didn’t seem close to overtaking the Brazilian rookie.

Verstappen complained over the team radio, and after being asked to stretch his second stint until the end of the race, he eventually had to pit again anyway.

The four-time world champion couldn’t make much headway after that. He finished ninth, picking up just two points for his efforts behind Lawson.

Apart from his retirement in Austria and a penalty in Barcelona that left him 10th, this was Verstappen’s lowest finish of the season. During pre-race coverage, Bernie Collins picked up on something Verstappen said that she thinks could have been very ‘demotivating’ for Red Bull staffers.

Bernie Collins suggests Verstappen’s Red Bull prediction could hurt staff motivation

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 (3/8, 1:03 pm), Collins was asked if Verstappen’s remark that Red Bull wouldn’t win again this season would motivate the team. She replied: “I don’t think any driver says we’re not going to win anything this year as a motivator to the team.

“That’s pretty demotivating if I were an engineer. I think that would really hit you a little bit.

“So, I think he’s hoping that with Laurent Mekies, a very tactical guy, they can get on top of the issues that this Red Bull has had for several seasons now.

“Get the second driver working well, and next year, they’ve got this real line in the sand, a real chance to start again.

“But, they need to get on top of these fundamental issues that they’ve been having for a little while now.

“Max, I think, is just using it as a powerful way of communicating with the team. ‘I am really not happy and something needs to change in this car to make me happy’.

She continued: “That’s what will hopefully drive the entire engineering force behind him to get a car that he can be more competitive with next year.”

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Max Verstappen’s warning for Red Bull ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Apart from McLaren, most teams are seeing their performance swing quite a bit from one circuit to the next.

Aston Martin had their best weekend of the year, with Fernando Alonso praising Lance Stroll after they picked up 16 points between them.

Just a week earlier, Aston Martin had looked like the weakest team on the grid at Spa. Red Bull are not struggling to that extent, but they’re facing similar inconsistencies.

Verstappen had warned before the race that Hungary could be a ‘rude awakening’ for Red Bull, and it turned out he was right.

If the Dutchman truly believes Red Bull will not win again this season, it highlights just how far they’ve fallen since their dominant 2023 campaign.

New team boss Laurent Mekies has called Verstappen ‘off-the-charts’ to work with and will be hoping he can quickly restore some confidence in what’s still a long season ahead.