Max Verstappen’s father Jos has once again blasted Christian Horner and Red Bull following their ‘hugely disappointing’ loss to Lando Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris claimed victory at Verstappen’s home race last Sunday, crossing the finishing line a whopping 22.8 seconds ahead of the Dutchman in second-place.
The gap between the two in the Formula One championship is now down to 70 points with nine races left, while more significantly the gap between Red Bull and McLaren is just 30 points.
While McLaren have been tipped to clinch the constructors’ crown, Verstappen is still expected to hold on and win a fourth straight drivers’ title.
But Jos Verstappen believes his son is in for a ‘tough time’ for the rest of 2024 and has laid the blame squarely at the feet of Red Bull and team principal Horner, once again reigniting the feud between the two.
Though the RB20 started the season as by far the quickest car, the MCL38 is now the pace-setter, while major improvement from Mercedes as well Ferrari is making life even more complicated for Red Bull.
‘Over 20 seconds is a huge disappointment. Max never had a chance of winning,’ Verstappen snr told Bild.
‘But that’s not surprising when you regress the car. You can’t sugarcoat it anymore, the situation is serious.
‘Max won’t be happy with having a car like this. Now it’s up to Horner to get the team back on track.’
Max Verstappen actually lead the race at Zandvoort for the first 18 laps after passing pole-sitter Norris at the start, but once re-overtaken by the Brit he didn’t have the chance.
The 26-year-old also cut a frustrated figure afterward, expressing his annoyance at the lack of progress the team had made with the car from the beginning of the year.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t say it, but I’m doing it anyway. The fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says enough,’ Jos Verstappen added in a interview with the De Telegraaf.
‘They just don’t have it right here at the moment. I think they should take a good look in the mirror.’
‘Max knew this was coming. He just didn’t have a chance. This way it’s going to be really tough the rest of the year.
‘Max is doing everything he can, but doesn’t have the material to finish it. It was already exceptional that he qualified second.’
The Verstappens and Red Bull will be looking to get things back on track at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Geri Halliwell’s F1 boss husband Christian Horner breaks silence after allegations are cleared
MORE : Max Verstappen drops major hint over when he will retire from Formula 1
MORE : Convicted rapist Steven van de Velde sobs as he reveals he considered quitting Paris Olympics
Share this with