Alice Powell shares how Max Verstappen was acting in the paddock after Hungarian GP woes

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Max Verstappen endured one of his most frustrating races in recent years at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend. He lost ground in the championship for the first time since Monaco after finishing fifth.

It could have been worse for Verstappen had Lando Norris not reluctantly moved over for McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the closing stages. The team ordered the swap after Norris regained the lead with what they saw as an unfair strategic advantage.

Verstappen consequently carries a 76-point advantage into this weekend’s race in Belgium, rather than 69. But his bigger concern will be Red Bull’s struggle to improve their car.

The team introduced another set of upgrades at the Hungaroring, but they simply couldn’t match McLaren. Verstappen qualified third and then spent his race battling Lewis Hamilton for the final podium spot rather than pressuring the two papaya cars.

The Dutchman couldn’t pass Hamilton on significantly fresher tyres and made contact with the Mercedes driver when he attempted a lunge in the final stint. It dropped him to P5 behind Charles Leclerc, completing a race to forget.

It was also an afternoon marked by notably tetchy radio exchanges. Gianpiero Lambiase appeared to have little patience with Verstappen’s complaints over the 70 laps.

Alice Powell says Max Verstappen ‘didn’t want to interact with anybody’ after Hungarian GP

Speaking on F1TV’s post-race show, pundit Alice Powell shared her takeaways from Verstappen’s demeanour post-race. He apparently looked dejected and had no interest in any conversation beyond his media duties.

Powell was ‘glad’ that she wasn’t on Verstappen’s flight out of Budapest given the 26-year-old’s mood. He’s gone three races without a victory for the first time since the end of 2021.

“We saw him just walk through here to the media pen,” she said. “His head was down. The cap was low.

“He didn’t want to interact with anybody. I’m glad we’re not sharing a flight home with him because it can’t be pretty.”

After a serene 2023 campaign, it’s been a scruffy period for Verstappen individually. It began at the Austrian GP when he collided with Norris late on and earned a 10-second penalty.

At Silverstone, he hurt his chances of pole position by sustaining underbody damage in a Q1 off. And his run-in with Hamilton in Budapest could be considered an error too.

Red Bull haven’t ‘listened’ to Verstappen over key RB20 issue

Technical director Pierre Wache and head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo appear to have taken on more authority in the development of the Red Bull car this year. The influence of Adrian Newey has waned ahead of his departure in early 2025.

Reports claim Wache and Balbo went in a direction that Newey was ‘strongly against’. The team’s trajectory this year may raise concerns about the new-look technical hierarchy.

Verstappen feels he hasn’t been ‘listened to’ over his ride quality concerns. He’s repeatedly told the team that the car isn’t well-suited to tackling kerbs and bumps.

Christian Horner will be wary of the importance of keeping him happy. He knows that Toto Wolff is keeping the door open at Mercedes, who have made a breakthrough with the current generation of cars and appear well-placed for the 2026 regulation changes too.