Max Verstappen launches X-rated tirade at F1 rival

Max Verstappen shrugs his shoulders and looks in dismay at the Red Bull Garage in Spa — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen launches X-rated tirade at F1 rival

Verstappen did not agree with the on-track actions of a certain driver in Spa

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 19 July 2026 08:12

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Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen was caught lashing out at one of his rivals over the Red Bull airwaves this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix following a major incident for Lewis Hamilton.

When yellow flag conditions were triggered in FP3 at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday thanks to Hamilton's Ferrari colliding with the barrier at the exit of Turn 13, Carlos Sainz almost drove straight into the back of Verstappen.

The 31-year-old then found himself on the wrong end of Verstappen's harsh tongue as a result.

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Speaking over team radio during the final practice of the weekend, Verstappen could be heard saying: "What the ****?!" in reference to the driving of the Williams F1 star.

Verstappen continued his rant following the X-rated outburst, saying: "My god! It’s like double yellows and this car almost crashes in the back of me! Unbelievable!"

And it wasn't just Verstappen who took notice of the Spaniard's near-miss. Sainz even got himself investigated by F1's governing body, the FIA, over the incident.

FIA issue verdict over Sainz incident that left Verstappen fuming

Having riled up Red Bull's star driver, Sainz was summoned to the stewards on Saturday for an alleged failure to slow under yellow flags.

The FIA stewards heard from Sainz and Verstappen and after reviewing positioning/marshalling system data, video, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence, the governing body confirmed no further action would be taken against the Williams driver.

Explaining the stewards' decision, a statement from the FIA read: "Car 55 and Car 3 had both passed through this double yellow sector on the previous lap. Car 55 was behind Car 3 on the approach to the double yellow zone.

"Both cars commenced braking prior to the start of the zone but the driver of Car 3 applied more brake pressure than the driver of Car 55 had expected and as a consequence the driver of Car 55 had to take evasive action and move to the right of Car 3, locking brakes but not overtaking.

"Both drivers stated they were surprised, the driver of Car 3 by Car 55 closing so quickly after Car 3 had commenced braking before the zone, and the driver of Car 55 by Car 3 braking more heavily than he had anticipated.

"The relevant rules require a driver to reduce speed significantly when passing through a double waved yellow marshalling sector. Compliance with the rules does not expressly require that a significant speed reduction occur before the sector but in this case both drivers had commenced to do so, both braking approximately 80m before the start of the sector.

"By the time Car 55 entered the double yellow sector, it had reduced speed significantly and maintained a significantly reduced speed throughout the sector.

"The Stewards were therefore satisfied that the driver of Car 55 committed no infringement, the locking of brakes was attributable to a misunderstanding of relative braking and determined to take no further action."

But his brush with Verstappen wasn't the only tense exchange Sainz was involved in at Spa.

After annoying championship leader Kimi Antonelli during practice on Friday due to his slow-moving Williams, Sainz also bore the brunt of an emotional team radio message from the young Italian.

Antonelli called Sainz an 'idiot' after the incident before suggesting he should avoid lashing out in future.

"I think he felt like I impeded him, I don’t feel like I did," said Sainz.

"I guess nowadays with the SM [straight mode], if you don’t get out of the way exactly, you cannot turn because you have no downforce with the wings open.

"Maybe he felt like I could have got out of the way in a better way. But I don’t think he should call me an idiot either, on the radio, I think that’s forbidden, to swear and insult a rival - so I think he should calm down a bit."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Carlos Sainz Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps