F1 News: Max Verstappen 'beyond despair' at Red Bull after Hungarian Grand Prix frustration

Verstappen on FIA sofa in Red Bull kit looking stressed with hand running through hair — Photo: © IMAGO

Hungarian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen 'beyond despair' at Red Bull after Hungarian Grand Prix frustration

Red Bull can at least take comfort in knowing Verstappen doesn't have to face F1 media until August

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 28 July 2026 21:45

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Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen may have finished on the podium at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, but that doesn't mean he is in a good place at Red Bull.

Chatter around the 28-year-old's future has died down over the past week after rumours spread among the paddock that his management held talks with McLaren over a potential driver swap with Oscar Piastri.

All parties involved denied that any such conversations were heading in a serious direction, but the fact of the matter still stands that Verstappen's contract with Red Bull does include a performance-based exit clause.

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Even after picking up the 18 championship points that came with P2 in Sunday's race, Verstappen headed into the summer break way down in P6 in the standings, four places away from the position that would have prevented him from triggering his exit clause.

Instead, the door is now very much open for the Dutchman to leave Red Bull and potentially the sport altogether, and even though he reportedly has until October to decide his future, things don't look stable after a frustrating qualifying session at the Hungaroring.

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Verstappen at odds with inconsistent Red Bull

Following the final race weekend before the sport's summer shutdown, De Telegraaf have reported that Verstappen's interactions with the media after qualifying in Hungary were kept very brief at the request of Red Bull.

The Dutch publication noted that the energy drink giant's star driver appeared to be 'beyond despair' that his team were battling a new unexplainable problem almost every race weekend, something which has perhaps been forgotten already considering a three-place grid penalty for Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton meant Verstappen actually started Sunday's race up in P4.

Speaking after spinning out of the final moments of Q3, Verstappen said: "Qualifying was absolutely rubbish. You couldn't make anything of it."

He also described his RB22 as being 'completely broken,' before admitting: "Honestly every lap that I did in qualifying just was worse and worse, so it’s not good."

After his swift round of the television stations in the media pen, De Telegraaf claim Verstappen only spoke to international press for a minute and a half before giving Dutch reporters a mere two minutes due to his presence being required in a post-race debrief.

During a press conference at the Belgian GP the week before, the 28-year-old saw the funny side of being kept on a short leash, telling media: "Honestly, I don’t want to sit here and complain again because probably someone will shoot me outside the door."

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring