Max Verstappen has caused a stir with a rogue radio message that tore the Monaco Grand Prix to shreds on Monday morning.
The dour race left Formula 1 commentators with little to get excited about as the annual procession around the Monaco street circuit turned into a snoozefest.
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Verstappen said what he really thought of the debate when he unloaded on team radio during the race where he was stuck behind Mercedes’ George Russell in a fight for fifth.
Verstappen was powerless to get past the Englishman in a race where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc broke his curse to finally win his hometown race.
Aussie Oscar Piastri finished second while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Russell and Verstappen.
Verstappen shared his frustrations about the race on team radio.
“F*** me. This is really boring, I should have brought my pillow,” he said.
His comments after the race were just as scathing.
When asked on Sky Sports about the race, he responded: “I mean, we finished where we started, and the strategy was ruined by the red flag.
“We knew 77 laps on the hard tyre would be extremely tough. No workout whatsoever. Just really, really boring.”
He and Russell joked after the race that the race should change to include one lap where drivers have to run on foot to liven up the experience.
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“I think George and I now are going to go for a run now, because we didn’t really have any exercise,” he told Via Play.
“My god, that was terrible, so boring.”
Verstappen was also widely criticised for his comments by social media users for complaining about a spectacle his dominance has repeatedly caused in recent years.
The Red Bull driver has been near unstoppable in recent years and has cruised to comfortable victories without being involved in any of the drama unfolding behind him on the track.
He clearly didn’t like having a taste of his own medicine.
The series leader and three-time world champion said the team had found one positive by identifying the cause of their current problems after his worst result since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
In particular, he said their car struggled to cope with the bumpy nature of the track and a need to ride kerbs, which proved to be the strength of rivals Ferrari who won the race with local hero Charles Leclerc.
The result left Verstappen on top of the title race with 169 points to Leclerc on 138, while in the teams’ title race Red Bull lead with 276 to Ferrari on 152.
“It’s not going to be an easier weekend in Montreal either because of the kerbing and stuff,” he said, looking forward to the Canadian Grand Prix where another Ferrari success could blow the championship open.
“Our car is not good at that. They have resurfaced the track so that might bring some unexpected stuff — you never know the grip levels.
“This has been a really tricky and challenging weekend for us here. A lot of damage as well with Checo’s (Sergio Perez) car and overall just a weekend to forget, but also a lot to learn from.
“The only positive I think that comes out of this weekend is that we understand our weaknesses and that’s what we really need to work on.
“If we can solve that or make it decent, we immediately gain a lot of lap time. That’s promising, but we have to do it”.
On a grim day for Red Bull, Perez crashed on the opening lap, colliding with the two Haas cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
He said he felt shaky after their high-speed collision.
“I’m feeling a little bit shaky overall, but it was an immense crash and one that I am really disappointed about. It was totally unnecessary at that point given where we started. There was no need for it.”
— with AFP