Verstappen: I could get angry, that won't make the car faster

Verstappen, over the weekend of the Hungarian Grand Prix, confirmed that he will uphold his contract with Red Bull Racing that ends in 2028 and won't be leaving his team, at least not in 2026, insisting that he had faith in his team in turning things around.

However, the Dutchman went on to endure one of his worst weekends in 2025 as his RB21 simply didn't work around the Hungaroring despite the team throwing the kitchen sink at it.

Verstappen qualified eighth, and after finishing ninth in the race, he admitted he may not be able to win a race again in 2025.

Facing the Dutch media in Budapest, the Red Bull Racing ace was asked about his chances of winning again; he responded: "No, not the way things are going right now. That's just the way it is. It's clear.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I could get angry, but that won't make the car any faster," he added.

Elaborating on the challenges of Hungary, Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: "It has been a very difficult weekend. Very low grip, and not much we could make out of it.

"It's very complicated to explain. Nothing worked, unfortunately. In Spa, we had a much more competitive weekend.

"I know we are not on the level of McLaren, but they have also done a good job this year," the four-time F1 Champion concluded.

But newly appointed Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies refused to be as pessimistic as his star driver, insisting lessons learned from Hungary would help the team improve in the second half of the season that starts after the summer break in Zandvoort at the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen's home race.

Mekies said: "I don't think what you see this weekend [Hungary] represents where the car is at. We accept the fact that we are probably not very strong on tracks like here, but what we have seen today was outstanding.

"If you look, no question McLaren are faster, but look at Spa; Max was able to fight certainly on Saturday and surprise everyone in the sprint. Let's see."

With a sweeping change in F1 regulations coming in 2026, teams are now focused on their cars for next season with no more major upgrades expected so far and with Red Bull just relying on lessons learned to try and improve the RB21. Mekies added: "It will not change the fact that we have a narrow window.

"But I think to be dramatically out of it like that, I'm also quite confident that with all the tests we've done in Budapest, including into the race, I'm quite confident also that it will be a one-off.

"It is true that it was mainly a slow-speed and a mid-speed matter. Therefore, it points towards more tyre usage and the tyre being switched on more than our performance," the Frenchman concluded.

With ten races remaining, Verstappen finds himself third in the 2025 F1 Drivers' Championship, 97 points behind leader Oscar Piastri.