The
Spanish Grand Prix took an unexpected turn for
Max Verstappen. In the early stages of the race, he struggled with a failing DRS system, which left him stuck behind
George Russell. Meanwhile, he was in the lead of the race after
Charles Leclerc 's
Ferrari gave up the ghost.
Heavily irritated Verstappen on the radio
After his first pit stop, Verstappen found himself stuck behind Russell, who was defending his spot hard. Verstappen's DRS did not open when it should have, causing the Dutchman to lose a lot of time.
Radio messages followed, in which a heavily irritated Verstappen could be heard. When informed that at some point he had disabled DRS himself, he responded as follows: "That's because I ****** have to press that button fifty times!"
Perez has to let Verstappen pass
After Leclerc's unexpected retirement, Verstappen came in for another pit stop after some time, while
Sergio Perez took over the lead from Russell. Verstappen, however, was closing in on his teammate with great strides and team orders followed for Perez, who expressed his displeasure with the decision but did pull out of the way of his teammate without a problem.