Max Verstappen F1 News: Astonishing claim revealed as Red Bull star accused of driving DELIBERATELY slow

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Netherlands, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Astonishing Verstappen claim revealed as champion accused of driving DELIBERATELY slow

Martin Brundle has said Max Verstappen drove slowly to prove a point at Zandvoort

Harry Whitfield

Wednesday 28 August 2024 20:57 Updated: 14:13

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A shocking claim has been made about three-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen following his failure to secure victory at his home race for the first time at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend.

Verstappen, gained the lead on lap one from Lando Norris in the Dutch GP but was then overtaken by the Brit on Lap 18.

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Norris opened the gap to more than 22 seconds, cruising home for the second victory of his career.

The Red Bull star, who had won the last three of his home races in a row, had to settle for second place, but Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle believes there was a specific reason the gap ended up being so large.

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Lando Norris began the 2024 F1 season by finishing more than 48 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen, yet on Sunday he finished more than 22 seconds ahead of his championship rival.

However, Brundle believes the gap between Verstappen and Norris at the end of Sunday's race was an anomaly, with the popular pundit claiming the Dutchman drove slowly on purpose to spark his trailing team into action.

Speaking after the race, Brundle said: "I guess that was not the fastest Max could go.

"He knew he could not beat Lando, and if you fall back that far, it would give the factory a reason to hurry, right? I would be pretty sure about that."

The gap between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen is now down to 70 points in the drivers' standings

The pace of McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari has sparked some life into the 2024 F1 season with Red Bull remaining winless since June.

Alarm bells will be ringing now at the Red Bull headquarters in Milton Keynes as they aim to produce a fiery response when F1 heads to Monza for the Italian GP.