Helmut Marko and Christian Horner react to Max Verstappen’s sim racing before Hungarian GP

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ended up being one of the biggest talking points during a Hungarian Grand Prix that was full of incidents.

Even before the race, Max Verstappen’s feeling about the RB20 was clear to see.

The triple world champion had the opportunity to do one more run in Q3 after Yuki Tsunoda’s crash but was already out of the car before the red flag had ended.

At the beginning of the Grand Prix, Verstappen passed Lando Norris around the outside of the first corner.

However, he was off the track and his Red Bull team told him to give the place back to avoid a penalty and from there, Verstappen’s frustrations were easy to hear over the team radio.

Verstappen was undercut twice during the race with his closest rivals pitting earlier and maintaining track position on a circuit that’s notoriously difficult to overtake on.

His move on Lewis Hamilton almost ended in disaster as he locked up and was sent flying through the air, ending his chances of finishing on the podium.

Helmut Marko thinks Hamilton should have done more to avoid Verstappen, although the stewards decided it was a racing incident.

Verstappen’s late-night participation in a sim race during the race weekend was regularly brought up on commentary.

Helmut Marko, speaking via Motorsport-Total, and Christian Horner talking to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, were asked about his extracurricular activities away from the Hungaroring.

Unsurprisingly, both Red Bull chiefs dismissed any concerns about what Verstappen does in his free time.

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Helmut Marko and Christian Horner respond to Max Verstappen’s sim racing

Asked about Verstappen’s driving with Team Redline away from Red Bull, Horner said: “Max knows very well what is expected of him, how to win races and how to become world champion. We trust his assessments. And again: as a team, we always work together and if there are discussions about anything, we don’t do it in the media.”

Marko was then asked whether Red Bull would consider banning Verstappen from sim racing at night time before races and said: “That’s nonsense.

“In Imola, I don’t know where the sleeping times came from, he stayed up even later and won the race.

“Max has a different rhythm than me or other people, and the time he went to bed yesterday is nothing unusual for him.

“He didn’t even wake up at ten o’clock in Zandvoort when the helicopters flew over his motorhome. He has his quota of sleep, and he had it as usual.”

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Nico Rosberg left disappointed by Max Verstappen’s preparations for the Hungarian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen’s frustrations very much boiled over during and after the race but he’s still got the backing of Horner and Marko despite a disappointing weekend for Red Bull in Hungary.

With Sergio Perez struggling so much alongside him, they need to throw their full weight behind Verstappen to try and make sure they cling onto the lead in both championships.

However, former world champion Nico Rosberg wasn’t particularly happy with Verstappen’s preparation for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

He compared how he spent the evening before the race to Lando Norris and while there were many factors that ended up impacting their Grand Prix, it’s something both parties may have to consider going forward.