‘Other motives’ theory offered for Max Verstappen F1 Red Bull car gripes
David Croft has shared his theory for Max Verstappen's repeated Red Bull car grumbles.
Sky Sports Formula 1 lead commentator David Croft has suggested that there could be “other motives” behind Max Verstappen’s complaints about his Red Bull car.
Verstappen secured a strong second-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix despite repeatedly complaining about the performance of his Red Bull F1 car throughout the weekend.
After spinning off during his last flying lap of qualifying, Verstappen remarkably claimed Red Bull suffered “car degradation” during the session.
"Mate, the car is just completely broken aerodynamically, it's just getting worse and worse. What a joke. What. A. Joke, honestly. What a s**t weekend,” Verstappen told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over team radio.
The four-time world champion’s grumbles about the RB22 continued in the grand prix and Verstappen admitted he was “shocked” to take second in Hungary.
Speaking during the Sky Sports F1 show podcast, Croft speculated whether Verstappen’s repeated moans were a targeted message for McLaren, who the Dutchman has been linked with.
“What’s the underlying reason?” Croft said. “Is there something behind this? Is there a genuine issue, or does Max just want to put it out there that he’s not satisfied with where he’s at?
“From what I understand, the Red Bull is a decent car when it’s in perfect condition. But when there’s a slight discrepancy, a little bit of damage caused by a stone kicking up, or the front wing has had some contact, it doesn’t take much to throw it out of kilter.
“And when you throw it out of kilter, then it becomes very, very hard to drive. It’s on a knife-edge all the time. When it’s good, it’s very, very good. When it’s slightly bad, it’s ugly.
“For Max to be complaining as much as he was, constantly throughout that race, that makes me think that there’s other motives afoot here. What they are, then who knows?
“Are Max and his representatives, as a team together, trying to engineer a way out of Red Bull and maybe into McLaren? Could that happen? We keep talking about it but we don’t know the answer.”
Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028 but he has an exit clause that would allow him to leave at the end of the year if he wishes.
Red Bull has reportedly offered a big-money contract extension to Verstappen that would keep him committed to the team until the end of 2029.
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