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The adults at Red Bull have warned Max Verstappen to “not be childish” and stop his late-night gaming ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.

The warning comes after the young racer’s dodgy performance in Hungary, where he finished fifth. Verstappen admitted to having gone to bed at 3 AM the night before the race after spending hours on racing simulations.

The ‘childish’ dig is likely due to his moody post-race interviews and the swearing over the team radios during the race.

The series leader and three-time world champion can join an exclusive club this weekend in Spa by winning the race in Belgium for the fourth consecutive time – a feat last achieved by the great Ayrton Senna.

After three consecutive races without a win, Red Bull likely has good reason to remind the young driver of what’s at stake, and what glory awaits if he can get his sh*t together.

“Hungary was a tricky race and a weekend to forget and move forward from.”

“We have been working to optimise our performance and get the best out of the car that we possibly can.

“Spa has always been my favourite track with fast corners and lots of opportunities to overtake. The fans are also great and we get a lot of support there.”

While Verstappen seems to have accepted the admonishing in good faith, his boss at Red Bull, Christian Horner, has warned the threat from McLaren, the most on-form team with the fastest car, and both Mercedes and Ferrari, could wreck their season if they cannot gather points ‘more emphatically’ than they have.

“We’re just going to develop the fastest car we can, and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” said Horner.

“In the drivers’ championship, obviously Max has a good lead – but that can diminish very quickly, so, nothing can be taken for granted.”

Verstappen will have to deal with Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri, who got his first taste of victory last Sunday, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has won four times at Spa.

The good news is that Red Bull’s simulations are predicting a win for Verstappen, but then again, it would, wouldn’t it?

The Belgium Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, 28 July, with the rubber hitting the road at 15:00.

 

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[source:news24]