Max Verstappen aims X-RATED F1 rant at Red Bull in furious 'handbrake' claim

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, British GP, Britain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

Max Verstappen aims X-RATED rant at Red Bull in furious 'handbrake' claim

Max Verstappen endured a rollercoaster weekend at Silverstone

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 7 July 2025 11:56

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Max Verstappen directed an X-rated rant towards his Red Bull team after a difficult start to his British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone.

The four-time world champion shocked the British crowd to take pole position for Sunday’s British GP, after he struggled with his Red Bull car across the three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.

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Verstappen complained about a variety of parts on his car, from the tyres to the handbrake, in a series of characteristically sweary rants to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, where he complained: "Mate this brake bias is ****. This offset, it’s like a handbrake!"

On Friday, the Dutchman was equally as unhappy in an exchange with Lambiase, where he asked: "Have you seen my front tyres in the high speed? They just don't respond."

Lambiase responded by telling Verstappen his radio was not clear, where Verstappen replied: "Yeah, luckily it isn't."

The issue persisted into qualifying however, and despite his pole position lap in Q3, Verstappen still complained how hard the car was to handle.

"Ah the **** gear didn’t go in! The car is just so difficult." Verstappen continued.

Verstappen pole highlight of difficult British GP weekend

Verstappen secured pole at Silverstone on Saturday

Verstappen’s frustration with the RB21 is understandable, especially as he entered the British GP weekend with a huge deficit behind both McLaren stars in the drivers’ championship.

Prior to last weekend's race, the Dutchman was 61 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, after a costly crash with Kimi Antonelli at the Austrian GP, but proved he should not be counted out of the title fight with a spectacular lap in qualifying at Silverstone.

While his rivals struggled to pull together a solid lap during the windy conditions in Q3, Verstappen set a purple patch of sectors to claim the fastest time of the session and a lap of 1:24.892 seconds.

Verstappen’s impressive performance emerged after a frustrating weekend for the champion, where he was consistently pressed on a potential move to Mercedes.

Those questions are now unlikely to subside as the 27-year-old's struggles with Red Bull continued into Sunday's main event at Silverstone, where he could only manage a fifth-place finish behind both McLarens, Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber and home hero Lewis Hamilton.

As a result, Red Bull's star driver now has an even bigger cap to make up next time out at Spa, with 69 points separating him from the top of the standings.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lando Norris Silverstone British Grand Prix Gianpiero Lambiase