F1 champ hits out at 'surprising' Max Verstappen confusion

A former F1 champion has opened up on some apparent growing issues at Red Bull after the Spanish Grand Prix.

The team swapped Max Verstappen onto hard tyres during a late safety car, a move which indirectly resulted in the most controversial single moment of the 2025 season so far.

Verstappen's inability to get those tyres fired up for the race's restart led to him being passed by Charles Leclerc and resulted in his infamous confrontation with George Russell, leaving him walking away from the weekend with more penalty points than championship points.

Mika Hakkinen zoned in on the Dutchman's radio conversation when talking about the race on the Drive to Wynn podcast this week, with the four-time champion having to ask his team which tyre he was on following the pit stop.

READ MORE: F1 champion Fernando Alonso reveals 'important' factor as star quizzed on retirement

Hakkinen admits concerns over Red Bull decision

“I was very surprised about that question,” the two-time champ said. “Normally, the driver knows exactly what tyres he has and the condition of the tyres when they’re going to put them on the car during a race.

“When I saw them putting the hard tyres on Max, I thought, ‘This is not going to end up nicely, he’s going to struggle, he can’t get the temperature, he’s going to slide everywhere and everybody is just going to be coming left, right and centre overtaking him’.”

While it's unclear whether restarting in first place on worn soft tyres would've ultimately been any better than the hard tyre strategy in a vacuum, it's undeniable that the major flashpoint with Russell would've been avoided in that scenario.

Verstappen admitted as much after the race, posting on Instagram that the tyre decision had partly 'fuelled his frustration' in the build-up to him ramming into the Mercedes star.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton struggles 'not nice to see' as Ferrari told they can't rely on seven-time champion

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