Max Verstappen calls for one thing to be scrapped from Formula 1 broadcasts

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Max Verstappen is arguably the face of Formula 1 right now. But there are plenty of things about the sport that the Dutchman doesn’t particularly like.

Verstappen has won the last three world championships, including the most dominant title in F1 history in 2023. Barring an almost miraculous turnaround, he’ll make that four in a row this year – he’s 78 points ahead of Lando Norris with 10 races remaining.

But Verstappen doesn’t like his interviews for Drive to Survive, the Netflix series that has driven a huge surge in the sport’s popularity. He even briefly boycotted the show before conciliatory talks with the producers.

The 26-year-old feels that the conversations don’t capture his true personality. And he also believed that they twisted or overdramatised the events on and off track.

One key feature of the Drive to Survive episodes, and F1 broadcasts more generally, is the snippets of team radio. All 10 competitors have agreed to make their communications from the pit wall public.

Verstappen came under fire following the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he furiously vented his frustrations about the team’s strategy in a disappointing race. Christian Horner ordered clear-the-air talks with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at Spa the following weekend.

Max Verstappen wants Formula 1 to stop sharing team radio

Speaking to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, Verstappen called for team radio communications to remain private. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is determined to protect F1 stewards, and the Red Bull superstar feels this would be a positive step.

He pointed out that competitors in virtually every sport complain about the officials’ decisions. But F1 drivers are in the unique position of having a ‘microphone under their nose’.

That, in turn, can lead to a pile-on through social media, with fans emboldened by their drivers’ remarks. Verstappen clearly feels he’s being placed in an unfair position.

“First of all I would say: they shouldn’t broadcast those onboard radios, you have already solved a big part of the problem,” he said. “People can’t hear it and simply not know what is being said there.

“In every sport there will be something bad said at a certain decision, only there they don’t have a microphone under their nose. Now people hear everything and can go back to talking about it on social media. That’s where it starts.”

Martin Brundle has criticised Max Verstappen over his radio messages

Lewis Hamilton told Verstappen to ‘act like a world champion’ after the events of Budapest. The 61-time winner’s frustrating afternoon ended in a collision with his longtime rival, dropping him to fifth place.

Verstappen insisted that ‘wasn’t his problem’, but cynics would suggest the backlash has fed into his stance on team radios. It would have a competitive impact too, of course, because teams would be left guessing about their rivals.

Martin Brundle says Verstappen should ‘tear pieces’ out of Red Bull in private rather than being publicly ‘disrespectful’. He was ‘really uncomfortable’ listening to him ‘rinse’ Lambiase.

According to a recent poll, Verstappen is the seventh-most popular driver in F1. Many fans naturally resent dominance, but it’s also true that races like Hungary can cause reputational damage.