An unbroadcast Max Verstappen radio message has emerged from the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix, revealing the Red Bull driver’s furious reaction to Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. While trying to lap the two drivers, the four-time world champion shouted, “These idiots!”, before demanding that they be penalised.
Questions periodically arise over Red Bull’s ability to benefit from assistance provided by its two Racing Bulls cars, particularly when incidents appear to resemble the wider use of team orders, which is theoretically prohibited by the Formula 1 regulations. At the Hungaroring, however, the opposite occurred. Max Verstappen found himself delayed by the two drivers from Red Bull’s sister team despite eventually securing an excellent second place behind Hungarian Grand Prix winner Lando Norris.
The heated message was not broadcast during the live television coverage, but surfaced in the hours after the race.
Max Verstappen radio anger aimed at Racing Bulls pair
Formula 1 has now entered its summer break, meaning championship leader Kimi Antonelli and his current title rivals, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, will not return to competitive action for almost a month. The season resumes at Zandvoort on 23 August with the Dutch Grand Prix, with the complete 2026 Dutch Grand Prix schedule setting out the timetable for the weekend.
Max Verstappen will arrive at his home race with renewed confidence after claiming three podiums in the past four Grands Prix. The 28-year-old finished second in Austria, third in Belgium and second in Hungary. Even so, the Dutch driver can hardly be satisfied with a season in which he sits sixth in the Formula 1 drivers’ standings, 110 points behind Kimi Antonelli.
Rumours about a possible Red Bull departure have therefore not disappeared, especially as the car is certainly not among the strongest on the grid. Nevertheless, the four-time champion continues to extract the maximum available potential, as he demonstrated at the Hungaroring on Sunday.
Max Verstappen’s competitive instincts are always close to the surface during a race, and that became clear when he encountered Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. Lawson, who was also his Red Bull teammate in 2025, and the British rookie were both subjected to an angry radio outburst.
Why Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad did not immediately move aside
The Hungarian Grand Prix had entered its final phase when Max Verstappen approached the two Racing Bulls cars to put them a lap down. Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were fighting each other for position and would eventually finish eighth and tenth respectively in the late Hungaroring drama.
Neither driver wanted to move aside immediately and potentially leave himself vulnerable to his teammate. Blue flags were being shown to warn them that the Red Bull was approaching with a one-lap advantage, meaning they were required to allow the faster car through.
That was when Max Verstappen lost patience and erupted over the radio: “They should get a penalty! This is fucking ridiculous, these idiots!”
The Red Bull driver eventually passed both Racing Bulls cars. There was, however, a mitigating factor for Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad: the stewards had needed to use blue flags because the warning panels on the drivers’ steering-wheel displays were not functioning correctly following a system failure. Similar lapping difficulties were also reported by other drivers during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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