Max Verstappen is feeling the pressure and rude comment in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix interview proves it

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Pressure is starting to ramp up on both Red Bull and Max Verstappen after realising that the RB21 may be far behind its competitors during the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The reigning world champion suffered a miserable Bahrain Grand Prix by his own high standards, finishing sixth and dropping from second to third in the drivers’ championship.

The Red Bull car is not where it needs to be, and Verstappen will not be able to get close to a fifth consecutive title unless upgrades are introduced and more speed is found.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is an important weekend for the Milton Keynes-based outfit. They’ve won three of four races in Jeddah and it’s meant to be a strong event for them. They might be able to regain some confidence.

Verstappen is most frustrated with Red Bull because the team could have opted to listen to his concerns about the car sooner.

Red Bull staff feel tense around Christian Horner and know that what they are currently producing is not good enough. Changes are on their way.

READ MORE: Ted Kravitz explains what made Max Verstappen even more annoyed than Red Bull’s on track issues at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Max Verstappen’s rude Saudi Arabian Grand Prix comment shows mounting pressure at Red Bull

After flying out of the blocks during the 2024 Formula 1 season, Verstappen found himself with a big gap, despite not having the fastest car for much of the season.

He knows that the longer McLaren can maintain their advantage, the harder it will be to beat them. The pressure of the situation may be starting to get to him.

His rude comments towards Sky Sports F1’s David Croft during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix drivers’ press conference say it all. The commentator asked a fairly standard question to the Dutchman and he gave a very harsh response. Are the rumours about his future and where it may lie getting to him?

“So he’s [Marko] getting the wrong end of the stick? You’re not thinking of leaving Red Bull?” asked Croft.

“No, I think [you] just focus on commentating, I’ll focus on driving and then you don’t need to think about any other scenarios,” replied Verstappen.

Red Bull may struggle to prevent Verstappen leaving if he decides that he doesn’t have trust in their plan for the long term. He would have no shortage of offers from rivals.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen now attracting £206m-a-year five-season offer to leave Red Bull with Mercedes set to re-sign George Russell

How much slower was Max Verstappen and Red Bull than McLaren at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix?

After his Bahrain struggles, including being in last place at one point in the race, Verstappen crossed the line 34 seconds behind race-winner Oscar Piastri.

Across a 57-lap race, it means that he was six-tenths per lap slower. That’s without taking into account the mid-race safety car.

Without that stoppage, he might have finished over one minute behind the McLaren cars, with a deficit of more than one second per lap.

If the gap is that big, even a dramatic upgrade won’t be enough to bring Red Bull level with their Woking-based rivals. They’ve allowed them to pull too far ahead.

This could have consequences for the team heading into the 2026 F1 regulations. If they spend extra time trying to catch up this year, they’ll be diverting resources from their efforts for the future.