(Motorsport-Total.com) – Max Verstappen finished second in the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Red Bull driver did not seem satisfied after the race. This was also noticed by former Formula 1 driver and current Sky Sports expert Martin Brundle.
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Although the Hungaroring depends less on engine power, Red Bull struggled with unstable handling in the corners throughout the weekend. Verstappen still managed to finish second behind the dominant McLaren. Teammate Isack Hadjar finished sixth.
Brundle focused in the Sky Sports F1 broadcast especially on Verstappen’s public criticism of the RB22, even though the Dutchman had once again achieved a strong result.
“He hasn’t really allowed himself a smile yet,” says Brundle. “But he is angry at the car. It pushes him when he doesn’t want it to, and I get the impression that it keeps surprising him in the corners. That is exactly something you don’t need at all.”
Verstappen keeps the pressure on Red Bull high
Brundle is particularly impressed by how Verstappen deals with the difficulties of the car. “I am actually a bit fascinated by Max at the moment,” he explains. “He just drives brilliantly. He takes a car as it is and makes the best of it. Not many drivers can do that, to drive around the problems. Very few that I have experienced in my life could control such an unstable car and still get it onto the podium.”
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During the conversation, Brundle again highlights Verstappen’s qualities and emphasizes his possible strategy with the team: “That’s just what Max does. At the same time, he obviously wants to keep the pressure on the team high.”
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Sky Sports expert Anthony Davidson also considers the result respectable for Red Bull given the circumstances. “I actually expected a lot from Red Bull here because the track depends less on the power unit,” says Davidson. “Also, we had already seen that their car can be quite strong in slow corners. Just think of Monaco, where Max put the car in the front row.”
Davidson: Red Bull can be satisfied with the result
However, the balance problems made the weekend difficult for both Verstappen and Hadjar.
“With the balance problems Max had to fight against, and also Isack, Red Bull really can’t be disappointed with second and sixth place,” says Davidson. “That was a really good result for them. But Max will probably be mainly disappointed because he had to watch McLaren simply pull away at the front.”
Despite the repeated podium finish, the impression remains that Red Bull is currently getting the maximum out of its package but still struggles with the car’s weaknesses in the fight with McLaren.
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