When was the last time you witnessed Max Verstappen in the lead of a race, not having complete control over the situation? When was the last time the win was under threat? And when was the last time it was Lewis Hamilton chasing the Dutchman for the win? Before the US GP, whenever Verstappen led a race in the past couple of years, there’d been practically no pressure on him. But that all changed in Austin because Hamilton ensured he gave the three-time champion a run for his money and legitimized a prophecy he made.

“You know Max is under pressure when he’s swearing,” said Hamilton in an interview after a Belgian GP qualifying that saw Verstappen lose his cool. X-rated messages were flying across the airwaves, and at the US GP, it happened again. Although Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase (GP), put him in his place in Belgium, he could only listen to Verstappen vent out in Austin. Now, Helmut Marko has risen in the Dutchman’s defense.

Max Verstappen’s anger at GP was justified

After starting sixth at COTA, Verstappen slowly made his way through the field. Unlike other races, where he started out of position and took the lead within a few laps, it took the Dutchman half the race to assume his usual role as race leader. The reason? He struggled with his brakes throughout the race. Once he took the lead, he didn’t pull away like he usually does. As a result, his win came under slight threat toward the end of the race.

Had it been for a lap or two more, Lewis Hamilton would’ve gotten his 104th career win (which, ultimately, would’ve gone to Verstappen because of Hamilton’s disqualification). Either way, it wasn’t a straightforward win, and Verstappen wasn’t a happy man. Midway through the race, he said, “These brakes are so sh*t compared to yesterday. What a piece of s**t.” Obviously stressed, GP’s regular updates didn’t make Verstappen any happier. The Dutchman said, “Please, no talking in the braking zones!” When GP did it again, the Dutchman shouted, “Stop talking in the braking, man!” Turns out, he had good reason to be upset about the brakes.

In an interview with Sky Germany, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed what was wrong with the RB19 in COTA. He said, “We had changed the brake pads and somehow they deteriorated rapidly during the race. That didn’t give him the right feeling. Sometimes he braked predominantly with the front of the car, sometimes predominantly with the rear. It made it very difficult for him to drive at the limit, but he worked around those problems masterfully.”

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Despite the problems, Verstappen got his 50th career win in the bag. Along the way, he gave the F1 community another memorable radio exchange with GP to listen to time and again. The best part? Verstappen wouldn’t mind listening to it again either.

Max Verstappen suggested a million-dollar idea for Red Bull marketing

If there’s one person who can put Verstappen in his place, it’s GP. For the three-time champion, there’s no higher authority than GP at Red Bull. The British-Italian race engineer has been with Verstappen since day one, helping him grow into the driver he is today. Over the years (especially this season), GP has often stolen the limelight from Verstappen because of his hilarious yet stern messages to Verstappen.

Remember their Belgian GP qualifying exchange when Verstappen blamed GP for his “sh*t execution?” GP calmly hit back, saying, “And then when the track was two seconds quicker on the final lap, and you had no energy left, how would that have gone down?” During the race, he even said, “[The soft] tire had reasonable deg in the first stint. I would ask you to use your head a bit more.” Needless to say, their radio exchanges have been a treat to listen to, and Verstappen agrees. In an interview with Channel 4, Verstappen suggested, “I think I definitely need to try and speak to marketing. They have to put a compilation together at the end of the year with all our radio messages throughout the year.”

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Wouldn’t we all love to hear everything that happened on the airwaves between Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase? Do you believe Verstappen’s anger at the US GP was justified?