Verstappen urged to get double DNF pain "out of his system"

Ian Parkes
Wednesday 23 September 2020 09:18

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has been urged to put behind him the misery of his two recent DNFs and his frustration with power unit supplier Honda.

Verstappen's faint hopes of pushing Lewis Hamilton in this year's Formula 1 title race were extinguished in Italy as his RB16 suffered a PU failure in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and a software glitch to the PU in the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello.

The latter occurred just before the start, and although it was believed to have been rectified, a recurrence soon after saw him drop into the pack where he was involved in a collision that forced a retirement.

A furious Verstappen then vented over the team radio as he said: "This is what you get with this f****** s**tshow! Honestly!"

Verstappen later claimed he would have been forced to retire anyway due to the technical glitch. The Dutchman now heads into this weekend's Russian Grand Prix 80 points adrift of Hamilton.

Appreciating Verstappen's annoyance, via his column team principal Christian Horner said: "Max's frustration at another DNF is totally understandable.

"From the very first lap [in practice] in Mugello, he was on it. We had a very fast car and some real progress has been made with the balance of the car. That is what was so galling for him.

"In the heat of the moment, when you have gone from the adrenaline of the start to the disappointment of ending up in the gravel trap, it is only natural to vent on the radio.

"We really felt that in the race we could take the fight to Mercedes. He had done the hard work in beating Lewis off the line and it was going to be game on, but of course, that did not materialise."

After a run of six successive podiums that had kept Verstappen on Hamilton's tail, the double DNF has cast him agonisingly adrift.

Further exonerating his driver, Horner added: "It was the second race in a row and a huge frustration for him because he is hungry and wants it so badly.

"If he did not have that hunger, he would not be the driver he is and the one that we all want to watch fight for victories each weekend.

"He has to get it out of his system now and then look forward. We will go through it with him prior to Sochi and discuss what has been done behind the scenes between Honda and the team to help so it is rectified for the next race."

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