Bernie Collins thinks Max Verstappen just said something so ‘demotivating’ to Red Bull staff

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The Hungarian Grand Prix was one of the worst weekends of the season for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen.

In the run-up to qualifying, it was clear Red Bull didn’t understand why both of their drivers were struggling so much.

Max Verstappen was happy to reach the top 10 shootout and eventually qualified eighth, while Yuki Tsunoda was less than two-tenths behind him, but that led to another Q1 exit.

Verstappen went backwards on the opening lap, something that has so rarely happened during his Formula 1 career.

He found a way past Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll on the opening stint, but was stuck behind Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber and never looked like passing the Brazilian rookie.

Verstappen was heard complaining on the team radio, and after being asked to try and extend his second stint to the end of the race, he was eventually forced to pit again.

The four-time world champion could only make so much progress, and in the end, he finished behind Lawson, scoring two points with his P9 result.

Aside from his retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix and being penalised in Barcelona, which led to finishing 10th, it was Verstappen’s worst result of the season.

In the build-up to the Grand Prix, former race strategist Bernie Collins heard Verstappen say something she believes would have been so ‘demotivating’ to Red Bull’s staff.

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Max Verstappen’s Red Bull won’t win again in 2025 so ‘demotivating’ to staff – Bernie Collins

Collins was asked on Sky Sports F1 (3/8, 1:03 pm) if Verstappen’s comment that Red Bull won’t win another race this season will motivate the team and responded: “I don’t think any driver says we’re not going to win anything this year as a motivator to the team.

“That’s pretty demotivating if I were an engineer. I think that would really hit you a little bit.

“So, I think he’s hoping that with Laurent Mekies, a very tactical guy, they can get on top of the issues that this Red Bull has had for several seasons now.

“Get the second driver working well, and next year, they’ve got this real line in the sand, a real chance to start again.

“But, they need to get on top of these fundamental issues that they’ve been having for a little while now.

“Max, I think, is just using it as a powerful way of communicating with the team, ‘I am really not happy, and something needs to change in this car to make me happy’.

“That’s what will hopefully drive the entire engineering force behind him to get a car that he can be more competitive with next year.”

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Max Verstappen warns Red Bull about a ‘rude awakening’ before the Hungarian Grand Prix

Aside from McLaren, every other team on the grid is experiencing very different performance levels at each track they visit.

Aston Martin had their best race of the season, with Fernando Alonso congratulating Lance Stroll following their 16-point haul.

That comes seven days after they were the weakest team on the grid at Spa, and Red Bull are having a similar problem, but to a lesser extent.

Verstappen warned Red Bull that the Hungarian Grand Prix would be a ‘rude awakening’ and that came to pass.

If the four-time world champion can only finish ninth, and truly believes the team won’t win again this season, then it’s a damning indictment of how far Red Bull have fallen since their dominant 2023 campaign.

New team principal Laurent Mekies says Verstappen is ‘off-the-charts’ to work with, and he’ll be hoping Verstappen’s faith in the team to be a race-winning outfit is restored quickly.