Max Verstappen admits Red Bull F1 driver made an ‘embarrassing’ mistake in 2023

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Max Verstappen believes he only made one ‘big mistake’ across 2023 but the Red Bull driver admits his error during qualifying at the British GP this July was ‘embarrassing’.

The 26-year-old enjoyed the most dominant season in Formula 1 history this year as he took a third-straight drivers’ title. Verstappen now owns the records for the most wins in a season (19), best winning percentage (86.3%), longest win streak (10) and the most laps led (1,003).

One of his 19 wins from 22 rounds came at the British GP, too, after fending off McLaren star Lando Norris. Verstappen started on pole position at Silverstone but had to wrestle the lead back from the home hero. Norris stole first place straight away after getting a superior start.

Max Verstappen admits he made an ‘embarrassing’ mistake at the British GP

It was nearly a very different weekend in Northamptonshire for Verstappen, though. The 54-time Grand Prix winner hit the pit wall during Q1 for his 150th start for Red Bull. Verstappen understeered into the concrete barrier whilst he exited the team’s garage at crawling speed.

The pit lane at Silverstone is among the widest on the Formula 1 calendar. But Verstappen’s tepid pace meant he could not make the turn given the narrow steering range available in a Formula 1 car at those speeds. The Dutchman had his steering at full lock to make the turn.

Despite the speed of the incident, Verstappen’s contact with the concrete wall split the left-hand side of his front wing. It was a clean break that left the entire side of the wing hanging by just a thread as Red Bull pushed their star driver back into the garage to undergo repairs.

Red Bull star Max Verstappen opens up on hitting the pit wall at Silverstone

Had Verstappen clipped the wall at a slightly different angle and damaged his suspension at Silverstone, the Red Bull driver may have faced a very different British GP. His provisional Q1 lap fell to P14 as the track conditions improved but Verstappen managed to better his time.

Sergio Perez had initially bettered Verstappen’s provisional Q1 time yet ended the session in 15th place and out of qualifying. So, his mistake in hitting the pit wall nearly cost Verstappen big at the British GP. And the Red Bull star now admits it was a rather clumsy error to make.

“I only made one big mistake,” Verstappen told Blick. “I hit the pit wall at Silverstone – that’s rather embarrassing. But not everything went ideally in Singapore, either.”

Red Bull struggled as a team for the only time this year at September’s Singapore GP. The Milton Keynes squad could not unlock a set-up that let their RB19 cope with the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Verstappen only qualified in P11 before coming through to finish in fifth place.