Max Verstappen passed Lando Norris at the first corner of the Hungarian Grand Prix, but Red Bull instructed him to allow the McLaren back through.
Red Bull threatened to launch an FIA investigation if Max Verstappen didn’t let Lando Norris pass him, which made him lose his cool.
On the opening lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen was one of three drivers battling for the lead at turn one. And as the two McLarens beside him fought for position, he was the one on the outside and veered off course.
Oscar Piastri had taken the lead and pole sitter Norris had dropped to third by the time he returned. However, the British man quickly took to the radio to voice his displeasure at Verstappen overtaking him.
In his own words, the Red Bull racer said he was forced to veer off course in order to avoid a collision. However, overtaking is prohibited outside of the circuit, and as soon as Verstappen failed to relinquish the lead, the F1 stewards began their investigation.
Recognizing that they were likely going to get penalized, Red Bull moved. Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer, informed him over the radio that he had to return the location in order to avoid penalties.
“Max, the incident is under investigation. It is recommended that you let this go and we can discuss it later,” he stated. Allow Lando to pass through to turn one. Not before snapping back, “Why can’t we let them say what they think and then we decide?” Verstappen complied.
Before the FIA announced that there would be no more action because Norris had been given the position back, the leader of the championship also let out a loud curse. However, Verstappen remained unfazed and threatened to drive even more aggressively in retaliation.
“All right, so you can just push people off the track then?” he yelled. You can inform the FIA that this is the way we will race going forward: by simply shoving drivers off the road.”
Despite everything, Piastri managed to accelerate away and open up a sizable lead for himself. By lap 14, the Australian had pulled away from his teammate by almost four seconds, and Norris had also broken the DRS activation delta with ease, leaving Verstappen to worry more about Lewis Hamilton trailing him.
However, Norris was not without other issues. Chief among them was the throttle problem he had brought to the team’s attention during the pre-race reconnaissance lap. The issue was resolved in time for the British driver to start the Grand Prix, but McLaren soon informed him that Verstappen was leading the race instead of Piastri, raising doubts about the vehicle.
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