Max Verstappen calls for FIA action in untelevised Barcelona GP team radio
Max Verstappen has had a few clashes with the FIA over the course of his F1 career
Untelevised team radio footage from the Barcelona Grand Prix has revealed the moment Max Verstappen called for the FIA to penalise a rival driver.
Verstappen came home a distant fourth in Spain last weekend, trailing the race-winning Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by 40 seconds.
Untelevised Max Verstappen team radio emerges from Barcelona GP
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The four-time world champion endured a lonely race in Barcelona, finishing 18 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri’s fifth-placed McLaren.
Verstappen and Red Bull have endured a muted start to the F1 2026 season, with the 28-year-old limited to a single podium finish so far.
Untelevised footage from last weekend’s race has revealed how Verstappen called for a rival driver to be penalised for failing to move aside as he came up to lap him.
The identity of the driver in question has not been verified, but Verstappen was believed to have been referring to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished a lap down in seventh place.
Verstappen said on Lap 53 of 66 in Barcelona: “Mate, this guy should get a penalty.
“He’s staying way too long in front. It’s just a joke.”
Verstappen had another encounter with a backmarker on Lap 43, when he lapped the 12th-placed Williams of Carlos Sainz.
Sainz did not seem to be aware of Verstappen’s presence as the Red Bull moved around the outside of Turn 3, with Verstappen momentarily forced to put two wheels off track as the Williams moved towards the racing line.
“Oh my God,” Verstappen said. “What, he didn’t see me or something?”
Verstappen made a number of complaints about the RB22 car over the course of the race.
As early as Lap 10, he raised concerns over the power delivery of the Red Bull-Ford power unit. He said: “No power at all out of there. Engine just didn’t go.”
In a message that made the official TV broadcast, meanwhile, Verstappen said of his struggles with tyres: “Yeah, struggling a lot with the tyres.
“I’m even wobbling on the straight. It’s quite impressive.”
In the closing stages of the race, Verstappen reported an issue with the car’s downshifts, with the problem particularly troublesome at Turn 10.
The full exchange between Verstappen and his race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, from Lap 58 went as follows:
Lambiase: “Other than Hamilton, race leader, you are the fastest car on track at the moment, Max.”
Verstappen: “I have some really random – like awful – downshifts.”
Lambiase: “OK, standby.”
Verstappen: “Ah, this corner is horrendous.”
Lambiase: “Is that the downshifts you’re referring to, Max?”
Verstappen: “Well, yeah, yeah. You can’t see it?”
Lambiase: “Max, there’s nothing really on the downshift we can help you with. Only option worth a try is perhaps plus one on the offset. Plus one on the offset for Turn 10.”
Verstappen added on the penultimate lap: “My gearbox must be f*cked, it’s really bad now.”
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The full exchange at the chequered flag between Verstappen, Lambiase and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies went as follows:
Lambiase: “Well done, Max. That was a great effort today, mate. Good job. We’ll have fail 84 and charge on, please. Fail 84 and charge on. Well done.”
Verstappen: “Yeah, I think so. I mean, yeah, it’s [inaudible] race. The other ones ahead were too quick. But yeah, it’s alright.”
Mekies: “Well done, Max. It was the maximum that could be achieved today. Well done with the pace and tyre management all through the race. Good stuff. The rest of the gap, we know we need to chase it.”
Verstappen: “Yeah, exactly. Yeah, just tricky with tyres.”
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