Verstappen apologises for 'heat of the moment' rant

While still frustrated by his enforced retirement at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has said sorry for the nature of his outburst.

31 July, 2018 07:41 IST

Max Verstappen has apologised for his "heat of the moment" rant after he was forced to retire at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver experienced a loss of power from fifth position and let loose over the team radio in an expletive-laden outburst. But, while the 20-year-old is still frustrated, he acknowledged that he should not have reacted in such a manner.

Looking back on yesterday the disappointment is still there. However, I should not have used the words I did in the heat of the moment. Emotions were running high after a good start to the race. These frustrations came for a reason, after another unexpected engine failure which have been happening too often over the past few years. We came to Budapest with high expectations and not being able to be competitive made it hard to swallow for us. I will go into the summer break hoping we will be back stronger after it.
A post shared by Max Verstappen (@maxverstappen1) on Jul 30, 2018 at 2:15am PDT

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Verstappen's Hungaroring woes, which came a week after teammate Daniel Ricciardo retired from the German Grand Prix with mechanical trouble, prompted Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to question the efforts of engine providers Renault.

Renault Sport F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul responded by telling Motorsport.com : "Our bosses have stopped reading what Christian Horner is saying about us since 2015."

Red Bull is to enter a new partnership with Honda after the end of the 2018 season. Verstappen heads into the mid-season break sixth in the Formula One drivers' standings.