Max Verstappen dangled a first pole position of the season in front of his fiercely loyal fanbase last weekend before crashing through no fault of his own at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman appeared to have finally found some pace at the wheel of his problematic RB22 on Saturday and looked set to join the fight before after enjoying a competitive middle sector.
But when pushing to clinch the top spot off of Charles Leclerc during his final flying lap, Verstappen crashed at Turn 9, sending his new machinery straight through the gravel and into the wall at his team's home circuit.
Luckily for the four-time champion, Red Bull later confirmed the incident had not occurred due to driver error, instead admitting that an issue on the rear of his car was to blame.
But that didn't stop the Orange Army from pulling their hair out over what could have been in Spielberg, especially since Verstappen went on to finish P2 and just 1.6s behind race winner George Russell on Sunday.
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Verstappen fans beside themselves after Red Bull crash
Verstappen's crash ont only triggered a controversial debate around the use of yellow flags but also showed just how much his fans want him to succeed with the energy drink giants.
After the eighth round of the championship concluded, a clip of one Verstappen fan losing his cool over the 28-year-old's qualifying incident has been shared online.
In the video, the individual dressed in Verstappen's unmistakeable bright orange merch can be seen watching qualifying from the edge of his seat before witnessing the crash first hand and completely losing it.
In a fit of rage, this fan leaped out of their chair before taking their frustrations out on an unsuspecting parasol that had been placed in front of them to shield from the sun brought on by the European heatwave.
The caption of the video agreed that this one fan represented every Verstappen supporter at the Red Bull Ring, with one comment stating: "Valid crashout."
He was all of us Maxies?? pic.twitter.com/mQIwSVAjTZ
— Tirii (@tirii_f1) June 29, 2026
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