F1 star Max Verstappen furious over Red Bull radio farce

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen furious over Red Bull radio farce

Verstappen retired in China

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 18 March 2026 14:58

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F1 team radio from the Chinese Grand Prix proved just how furious Max Verstappen was with his Red Bull team during the difficult race weekend.

An ERS (Energy Recovery System) coolant failure brought a premature end to Verstappen's Chinese GP on Sunday, forcing him to retire his RB22 on lap 45.

Prior to then, however, Verstappen was hardly enjoying an easy drive around the Shanghai International Circuit, once again struggling on the race start as he dropped down the order, and being outpaced on track by the Haas of Ollie Bearman.

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While the Red Bull package is a way off rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, and Verstappen himself is clearly not enjoying the new way of driving the 2026 cars, there was also a breakdown in communication between himself and the team that made matters worse.

Verstappen spent half the race lifting...when he shouldn't have been

Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have a stronger relationship than most, but this was put to the test on lap 35 of the race over team radio.

At one stage Lambiase responded to Verstappen's frustrations, and said: "I am supposed to be on your side Max, trying to give you some help and some information, nothing further mate. That's it."

To this Verstappen responded: "Do I need to even lift in six (Turn 6) or not?"

Lifting and coasting is more prevalent with the 2026 cars as an energy management technique, but does cost lap time in order to do so.

So, when Lambiase then responded that 'lift was not required Turn 6', Verstappen's subsequent frustration was understandable as the miscommunication cost him valuable race time.

Verstappen responded: "Doing half the race lifting? Why no one tells me?"

Following the Chinese GP, footage of Verstappen boarding his private jet saw the Dutchman followed by Red Bull top management such as Laurent Mekies, Pierre Wache and Lambiase himself. It isn't hard to imagine what the main topic of conversation would have been about on the flight home...

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Chinese Grand Prix Gianpiero Lambiase