Verstappen, the pride of the champion
Max Verstappen certainly did not take a liking to the new regulations. At the beginning of the year, the four-time world champion even threatened to retire from a sport he no longer recognized. He still doesn’t recognize it today (“Duel with Lewis Hamilton? I had to press a button,” this was his caustic comment after the Austrian GP), but the Circus at least realized it had taken a completely wrong path, immediately making corrections that will then be expanded in 2027 and 2028.
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To the frustration with this generation of cars must be added Red Bull’s technical crisis. Even in Hungary, Super Max had to cope with a difficult-to-drive car, characterized by balance problems and inconsistent behavior: the spin in Q3, the third in the last four race weekends, tells very well the difficulties of the Dutchman. However, as a champion, he overcame them by securing an incredible second place, including a memorable overtake on Hamilton. For the Dutchman, P2 in Hungary further rewards the competitiveness of the RB22 in a season he does not hesitate to call a jungle.
Verstappen’s words
“During the race I kept having the same problems, the car was extremely oversteering, at one point it lost grip quite abruptly. The overtake on Lewis made my second stint a bit easier. And when the team put the softs on me, initially I thought it would be very long, but we made it. I still don’t quite understand how we got second, but I think as a team we did a good job. It was a performance above expectations,” this was Verstappen’s comment.
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“For me, this season has definitely been a jungle, I’m just trying to enjoy it when I can. Of course, when the car is a bit easier to drive, you enjoy it a bit more, but most of the time you don’t really enjoy it. But this has more to do with other things, for example when you’re a bit low on battery“.
Verstappen’s podium in Hungary, the fourth of the season for the Dutch champion, allowed the Red Bull driver to overtake Oscar Piastri in sixth place in the standings: the vice world champion now has 109 points, 19 less than Lando Norris.
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