06/08/2025 20:00
Max Verstappen suffered an "indignity" in finishing behind Liam
Lawson in Hungary, according to Martin Brundle. Verstappen was only
ninth in Budapest to round out a tough first half of the 2025
season in which Red Bull has badly struggled with its RB21 car and
sacked team boss Christian Horner in July. In Hungary, Verstappen
was eighth in qualifying, but actually slipped behind his former
team-mate Lawson in the race after the Racing Bulls driver pulled
off a one-stop strategy to Verstappen's two. It is the first time
in 2025 that Lawson has finished ahead of Verstappen in a grand
prix where both have been classified, coming after the New
Zealander was axed by Red Bull after just two races, in Australia
and China. Lawson has now scored points in three of the last four
after making a breakthrough in Austria, and was the lead Red Bull
family driver in a grand prix for the second time in four races,
something Brundle felt was an "indignity." "Verstappen wasn't
having much of a day either, his Red Bull lacking pace as soon as
his tyres overheated," Brundle began in his Sky Sports F1 column.
"He started eighth and finished ninth, along with the indignity of
being behind his earlier in the season short-term team-mate Liam
Lawson, who drove the sister Racing Bulls car into a fine eighth
place. "[These are] difficult days at Red Bull." Is it over for
Verstappen? After the race, in which Verstappen fell to 97 points
behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, Red Bull advisor Helmut
Marko claimed it was "impossible" for the Dutchman to retain his
title for the fourth time. But do you agree with Marko's
assessment? Simply let us know by voting in the poll below and let
us know your thoughts in the comments!
