Red Bull slammed over Max Verstappen F1 ordeal: ‘They should be on their knees thanking him’

Max Verstappen

Red Bull slammed over Max Verstappen F1 ordeal: ‘They should be on their knees thanking him’

Verstappen is dragging Red Bull along in the constructors' championship

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 29 July 2026 18:46

Make us your Google favorite

The on-track performances put on by four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen are such that one prominent Dutch journalist feels Red Bull should be 'on their knees thanking him'.

Verstappen has claimed three podiums in the last four grands prix, despite his RB22 struggling for consistency.

Red Bull have not provided Verstappen with a car capable of challenging for the championship amid the regulation changes, which has led to speculation surrounding Verstappen's position within the team for next season.

Article continues under video

He has been linked with moves to Mercedes and McLaren in recent months, although all parties have remained tight-lipped on such speculation.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out, Verstappen finished second despite having been unhappy with his RB22 throughout the weekend, once again showing his ability to be able to extract the most out of his underperforming car.

Verstappen is now 41 points ahead of Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in the standings, despite the fact that Hadjar is thought to be doing a decent job considering Red Bull's struggles.

He is also 110 points from the top of the championship, and was over 100 points behind at this stage of last season's championship battle, before coming back to finish within two points of eventual champion Lando Norris.

It would be a longshot to suggest he can pull off something similar in 2026, but either way, a Dutch F1 journalist close to the Verstappen camp has suggested Red Bull should be more grateful to their star driver for the performances he has been putting in at the wheel of his RB22.

Dutch media warn Red Bull should be more grateful

Reports last week suggested there was pressure being put on Verstappen by the team to confirm his future at Red Bull for the 2027 season, but the Dutchman did not do that at the Hungarian Grand Prix, once again trying to avoid questions over his future.

Dutch F1 journalist Erik van Haren, who is close to the Verstappen camp, told De Telegraaf: "You know that Verstappen is always capable of doing something extraordinary, and that his team is usually very sharp when it comes to strategy. Even during the race, he was constantly complaining about the car.

"Afterwards, he said it was one of the toughest races of the season, especially considering how the car was behaving. His team-mate Isack Hadjar said more or less the same thing.

"They were both extremely unhappy with the Red Bull and with how difficult it was to drive. They even described it as undriveable.

"If you can still finish second in those circumstances, that is a remarkable achievement and completely against expectations. As an athlete, you look at the result, but you also have to look at the bigger picture.

"This weekend in Hungary, they were clearly the fourth-best team. McLaren has made a big step forward with its updates. Ferrari and Mercedes are also ahead of them. Normally, you would be talking about finishing seventh or eighth in that situation. But the beauty of sport is that you can always get more out of a situation than expected.

"However, looking at the bigger picture, Red Bull should be down on their knees thanking Verstappen that he is still there and that he continues to carry the team. Without him, things would look a lot more bleak."

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton boss admits mistakes as F1 champion 'offered new deal'

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Hungarian Grand Prix