Max Verstappen suggests drastic change to car and scrapping pit wall in sarcastic jibe | F1 | Sport

Max Verstappen wants more information at his fingertips so he can make strategy decisions for himself after a disastrous Grand Prix weekend in Hungary. The triple world champion’s Red Bull team made a number of questionable calls on a day when their car was already struggling for pace against the McLarens.

Oscar Piastri ended up taking his maiden F1 victory ahead of Lando Norris, who agreed to switch positions late on after a lengthy back-and-forth over the team radio.

Verstappen finished fifth following strategic mistakes on the pit wall which twice saw him fall behind Lewis Hamilton. The pair also turned back the clock with a non-race-ending collision at the Hungaroring.

Despite being called ‘childish’ during the Grand Prix by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen refused to back down after missing out on a podium place, jokingly suggesting that his team on the pit wall may as well not be there and a drastic car change could be a better arrangement.

“I don’t understand (how it can happen),” ranted the 26-year-old during an interview with Dutch media. “They have all the information there of course. Maybe I have to install that in my car, then I can do it myself.”

With seven wins earlier in the season, Verstappen still has a commanding lead in the Drivers’ Championship as he chases down a fourth individual title in a row.

But his lead is not as overwhelming as it was last year, when all bar one victory went to Red Bull and Verstappen won the world title with more than twice as many points as any other competitor.

McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes drivers have all stood at the top of the podium this year after closing the gap on Red Bull. And Verstappen has made it clear that his team must step things up a notch to avoid being chased down.

“I don’t think we need to apologise. We just need to do a better job,” said the Dutchman. “I don’t know why people think you can’t be vocal on the radio. This is a sport. If some people don’t like that, stay home.

“I’ve already said maybe some people (in the team) are not on the same wavelength. It’s as severe as it is. I knew it was going to be a difficult race and beating McLaren would be tough but you at least need to get a P3 over the line and even that we couldn’t do.”