Verstappen admits he has sometimes been harsh with Red Bull

Max Verstappen has acknowledged that he has sometimes been harsh with Red Bull during the 2026 season. He says he has been clear and honest, and that the team knows he did not mean his remarks personally.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Verstappen described himself as a perfectionist who always wants to improve things, especially when he knows they can be better.

Verstappen said Red Bull’s 2026 turnaround was a very different story from its improvement from Monza onwards in 2025. In 2025, he said, the team had long thought the car could not run a certain setup, then learned that it could. At the start of 2026, he said, trying any setup would not have improved the car’s balance. The latest updates, he added, have helped him find his rhythm more easily and push the limits.

Red Bull struggled through the opening months of 2026 to get on top of the RB22’s issues. A significant upgrade package introduced in Baku was followed by improved results. Verstappen took his first pole and win of the season in Malaysia, then carried that momentum into Singapore by converting sprint pole at Marina Bay into a win.