F1: Verstappen won’t tone down foul language to please critics

Three-time Formula One champion and current leader Max Verstappen has no intention of changing how he speaks to his Red Bull team despite facing criticism, the Dutch driver said on Thursday.

A frustrated Verstappen turned the air blue on the radio to the Red Bull pit wall during the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, where he finished fifth, and the defending champion has now gone three races without a win.

“You know people that don’t like my language, then don’t listen in, turn the volume down, you know,” Verstappen told reporters ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

“I’m very driven to success, I think I’ve proven that already, I always want to optimise stuff, now people can argue that he might not be so vocal on the radio but that’s their opinion.”

Verstappen spent much of the last race arguing with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over his team’s strategy and was also left furious after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, but he says it is an approach which has proved successful so far.

“We are very open-minded, very critical of each other, been working for us very well so I don’t expect that to change,” he said.

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“That’s our approach, I think it’s important you can be critical because in this world we are living now I feel anyway a lot of people can’t take criticism anymore like it used to be and I don’t want to end up like that.”

Unlike many other sports, in F1, Verstappen’s every word is overheard by millions watching around the world, but it won’t change the way he goes about his business.

“Well that’s also a thing, in other sports people say things but they don’t have a mic attached to their mouths,” Verstappen said.

“So in a way for the broadcast, you can argue that. I don’t care, I say what I want, but that’s our sport naturally. You communicate a lot with the pit wall, you have the opportunity to talk.

“Maybe in other sports, you swear to yourself about stuff that you didn’t like, a teammate didn’t pass the ball, you call them whatever it is, there is no mic, just how our sport is I guess.”

Verstappen also responded to criticism over his participation in a virtual sim race the night before the Hungarian Grand Prix but denied reports that his team had banned him from future events.

“I raced until 3 a.m., it’s not something new and for me, it’s something very important in my life. There are no other sim races coming up anyway so nobody has to worry about that,” he said.

“I’ve won three world championships, I think I know pretty well what I can and cannot do. I’m always very hard on myself with what is and isn’t allowed and, with all the experience I have in Formula 1, I think I know quite well what is best.”

Verstappen is 76 points clear in the championship, with 11 of 24 races remaining.