Max Verstappen defied Red Bull order and showed his character before Lando Norris incident
The Hungarian Grand Prix furore has reminded of another similar instance where Max Verstappen found himself at odds with his Red Bull bosses.
The latest allegations concerning Max Verstappen's ill discipline stemming from the Hungarian Grand Prix perhaps pale in comparison to some of his past deeds. And Sunday's result served to again highlight the characteristic differences between Red Bull's star man and Lando Norris.
McLaren's No.1 remains the most likely to challenge Verstappen, 26, for this season's Formula 1 world championship. That's after Norris, 24, played a key role in his team's momentous one-two finish this past weekend, where he – after taking some persuading from the McLaren team – gave up the lead himself to let team-mate Oscar Piastri retake the lead as he went on to collect his maiden F1 win.
Piastri had led the race until Norris was favoured at a pit stop to ward off the threat from Lewis Hamilton. The call for Piastri to win compensated him for the pit-stop strategy before, and recognised he was the stronger driver in Hungary.
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Contrast that against the performance of Verstappen, who settled for his second fifth-place finish in three races following a clearly sub-par performance. And Verstappen has been subjected to criticism since it emerged he was up until 3am on the morning of the race playing a simulator.
Norris' (eventual) act of sportsmanship sent a unified message in how this McLaren team is in its quest to end Red Bull's reign. And it could hardly appear more different to the disjointed dynamic between Verstappen and his partner, Sergio Perez.
Nowhere was this evidenced more than at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, where Verstappen had long since sewn up that year's title. The Dutchman was gunning for sixth place while team-mate Perez sat one position behind in his bid to end the season as runner-up.
Yet despite radio calls from his team to let Perez pass, Verstappen held his place in an incident that went down in F1 infamy. In the end, Perez went on to finish the season third overall behind Charles Leclerc, and just three points was the difference.
“It shows who he really is,” Perez could be heard telling his engineers as he crossed the line in Sao Paulo. Team principal Christian Horner could also be heard apologising to his No.2, while Verstappen was adamant about his decision.
The three-time world champion has blazed a trail in F1 since debuting as a teenager in 2015, but he's also garnered a reputation for being selfish and unruly. Needless to say McLaren are targeting success but with a different set of morals.
Fans were stunned to learn of Verstappen participating in the 24-hour Spa sim-racing event on the morning of the Hungarian GP. However, Red Bull director Helmut Marko has since confirmed the driver is now prohibited from such distractions so late in future.
McLaren won't be able to rely on the pace-setter having his sleep cycle disrupted in that manner anymore, though Marko assured Verstappen had sufficient rest before Sunday's disappointment. And while McLaren may still be trailing in the standings, the result painted a clearer picture as to who's the superior team player at the top end of the table.
It will be interesting to see how the drivers fare in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa prior to the summer break. After Norris gace up his lead late in the race last Sunday, he will be even more determined to close the gap further to Verstappen in the standings this time.
