F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Verstappen says sorry for expletive-laden radio rant

Max Verstappen had every right to disappointed by his retirement from Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Red Bull driver says his abusive language went too far.

The Dutchman was charging in the opening laps of the race, desperate to remain in the wake of the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers when an MGU-K failure killed the power of his Renault power unit.

"Can I not just keep going? " said a dejected Verstappen.

"I don't care if this f***ing engine blows up... What a f***ing joke, all the f***ing time. Honestly. Argh!"

On Monday, Verstappen took to Instagram to express his regrets over the expletive-laden outburst, saying it was heat of the moment burst of rage.

"Looking back on yesterday the disappointment is still there," he wrote;

"However, I should not have used the words I did in the heat of the moment. Emotions were running high after a good start to the race.

"These frustrations came for a reason, after another unexpected engine failure which have been happening too often over the past few years.

"We came to Budapest with high expectations and not being able to be competitive made it hard to swallow for us. I will go into the summer break hoping we will be back stronger after it."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner added fuel to the fire after Verstappen was sidelined, criticizing Renault supplying a product worthy of the millions the team is paying. That reaction was met with contempt by Renault's Cyril Abiteboul who admitted to be fed up with Red Bull's grievances.

"Our bosses have stopped reading what Christian Horner is saying about us since 2015," he said.

"It's very clear that we don't want to have any dealings with them any more. It's very clear it's done."

Definitely an odd view on customer service from the Frenchman.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Hulkenberg: Seidl ‘driving factor’ that led to Audi deal

Nico Hulkenberg says Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl was the “driving factor” behind his decision to…

1 hour ago

Honda hopes to continue support for Tsunoda after 2025

Honda says it hopes to continue supporting its protégé Yuki Tsunoda despite its departure from…

3 hours ago

Schumacher now ‘certain’ Verstappen will leave Red Bull

The news of Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull has cast a shadow of uncertainty…

5 hours ago

Tyrrell puts its six-wheeler on the road in Spain

On this day in 1976, Tyrrell's radical six-wheel Tyrrell P34 made its race debut at…

6 hours ago

US Congress raises concerns over F1’s rejection of Andretti bid

A significant development has emerged in the ongoing saga surrounding Andretti Global's bid to enter…

7 hours ago

Celebrating Ferrari’s past, embracing the present

Celebrating Ferrari's 70-year journey in North America at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc…

8 hours ago