Verstappen exploded after unmasking: Finally the eye-opener for Red Bull?

Christian Horner had clearly thought about what message he would preach. In front of him on the table was a piece of paper, showing the race dates of all drivers in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Phase by phase, the Red Bull Racing team boss walked through the race and listening to him in this way, his team's poor result seemed more like bad luck than due to a lack of quality. Indeed, at several points in the race, Red Bull was just as fast as McLaren. Even Sergio Perez, he pointed out on his paper on a few occasions.

During the press interview, Horner was particularly reluctant to hang out the dirty laundry. He did talk about the dirty air Verstappen had to deal with (which is obviously detrimental to his speed) after getting stuck behind Lewis Hamilton, he talked about a wrongly chosen moment for a pit stop and did not want to address the Dutchman's confrontational language towards his team during the race. " That is not for the media," Horner said, surrounded by an army of journalists, still giving the impression that this was a point of discussion internally.

Politically correct statements from Horner

If Max Verstappen had been sitting at the table with Horner, I am sure he would have found most of his story all political nonsense. Sure, a primary reason for a botched afternoon near Budapest was the poorly timed pit stop. But the problems run deeper than just that one call. And it is by no means that the reigning champion had not warned the Austrian team about this sporting setback.

That Verstappen reacted so vehemently afterwards in his interview with the media was understandable in that light. He had been looking forward to the updates but had hoped for more. With McLaren remaining faster anyway, that is very worrying for his future. Indeed, Verstappen slowly sees prolonging both world titles - in both constructors and drivers - becoming a hell of a task. Fair is fair, nobody expected that after five Grands Prix.

There is no denying by now that Red Bull is in a negative spiral. Moreover, with the lagging performance, it comes to light that Red Bull is under enormous pressure and is no longer making the best choices in terms of car development. And when things then go wrong in this department, strategy becomes even more important. Any hiccups in this regard will stand out with a less fast car, as was evident in Hungary.

Problems at Red Bull run deep

Verstappen already mentioned it several times: He does not feel that everyone in the team realises it is two minutes to midnight. To whom he was referring, Verstappen would not say last Saturday. Listening to Horner's press interview, however, it is not hard to guess who Verstappen is thinking of, among others. But the problem is surely deeper in the organisation than Horner alone. That fact magnified Verstappen's irritation even more.

Actually - given all the problems Sunday at the Hungaroring - it is still a miracle that Verstappen finished fifth. And yes, that is not where Verstappen feels he belongs. But perhaps this will be that eye-opener then, to convince even the last wisps within Red Bull Racing of the seriousness of the situation. The season is still long and Verstappen realises: It's not too late, but we have to change course now. The current generation of cars is not yet at its ceiling and so things can be faster at Red Bull too, he is firmly convinced. After all, McLaren now proves that every Grand Prix.