Rightful that Verstappen got irritated by cynical Lambiase

Verstappen has felt like a caller in the desert for months. Verstappen already shouted at Imola that he is worried about the development of the RB20. According to Verstappen, however, no one took him seriously. In fact, Verstappen kept winning races, leading everyone inside and outside the team to think it was all okay.

By the end of July, however, Verstappen had already failed to win three races, is unlikely to win at Spa-Francorchamps and his lead in the world championship was dwindling fast. Verstappen has been vindicated, but updates cannot just be made again. Besides, Verstappen keeps repeating: 'Not everyone in the team takes this as seriously.'

After qualifying, Verstappen already knew what time it was: in Hungary he would not be competing for victory. However, Verstappen did all he could at the start to gain a place. Red Bull Racing then perhaps did the 'responsible thing' by stating that Max would get a penalty if he kept the position. Whereas Red Bull often remained fully behind Max over the years, Max was now told he had better give the position back.

Why Verstappen was irritated

Verstappen knew that giving back that position meant the race was over. The Red Bull driver did not have the pace to keep up with the McLarens and was condemned to defend his third place.

The tone was set. Verstappen complained bitterly about his car, which Verstappen said could hardly turn in corners. Verstappen's mood did not improve when Red Bull overlooked Mercedes' undercut. This put Verstappen behind Lewis Hamilton, which he struggled to pass. When first he was pushed off track, Lambiase reacted in a cynical way.

Verstappen will have hoped that Red Bull had learned from the first undercut and all the undercuts seen in the field. However, that was not the case. Red Bull left Verstappen out even longer this time, forcing him to pass not only Hamilton but also Charles Leclerc on the track.

Verstappen, who by now was starting to boil, then had a cynical comment from GP thrown at his head. Red Bull had requested Max to calmly warm up the tyres, but Max did not comply. Max flew towards Leclerc on his mediums, reacting furiously to Lambiase's cynical remark: 'You put me on this *** strategy, I'm trying to save what can be saved'.

Why Lambiase was guilty of irritating Verstappen

Verstappen passes Leclerc, but fails to get past Hamilton. An attack in which Verstappen is pushed off track by Hamilton is also met with cynicism from Lambiase: ''We thought you were behind him at the apex. '' Verstappen is done with it by then 'whatever man'.

One lap later, the inevitable crash takes place. Verstappen brakes very late for the first corner and shoots past Hamilton. The Brit appears to steer slightly in as Max passes, hitting Max. When Verstappen states that Hamilton moved under braking, Lambiase says he does not want to have that 'childish' conversation over the team radio.

It is good to have the division of roles clear. Lambiase is Max Verstappen's race engineer, whose job, fundamentally, is to make Verstappen perform optimally. You do that by providing Verstappen with the right information, but also by coaching him through a race. In the latter part, Lambiase failed from lap one.

Perhaps directed from higher up, but Lambiase seems intent on providing Verstappen with a rebuttal from lap one. As a result, Verstappen does not calm down, but gets more worked up by the lap. Lambiase's cynical comments have the opposite effect of what his role should be: Getting Verstappen calm and focused.

These team radios made it clear Verstappen was fuming. He already feels like he is not being heard by people within the team anyway. If his race engineer is already no longer fully supporting and publicly berating him, who can Max trust within Red Bull Racing?