Max Verstappen ended the Spanish Grand Prix on the podium, but his race was anything but smooth. The Red Bull driver was heard unleashing his frustration over an unaired team radio, branding the racing as "F***ing Mickey Mouse" after an early clash with Lewis Hamilton.
The incident occurred at Turn 1 of the Madring circuit. Verstappen cut the chicane after being left with little room by Hamilton, who immediately demanded his position back. Verstappen reported that the Ferrari was "out of control" and "almost shunted into me." Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase instructed Verstappen to give the position back to avoid a penalty.
Verstappen complied, but not without complaints, describing the racing as "F***ing Mickey Mouse" over the unaired radio. He also had to let Kimi Antonelli through, as he had overtaken the Mercedes driver after passing Hamilton.
Hamilton retired a few laps later with a brake issue. Verstappen eventually finished second behind Antonelli, with Lando Norris completing the podium. In the post-race press conference, Verstappen admitted the result was the maximum possible. "Yeah, maximised the result. Probably a bit lucky with the unlucky situation for Lando. Because I didn’t have the pace of Kimi, and I definitely did not have the pace of Lando," he said.
Verstappen added that a win was never on the cards, even without the Turn 1 incident. "I would have had damage at the start if I would have stayed on track. But then the win was also not on. It’s as simple as that. I just did my own thing in Turn 1. But Lewis went for a move on the first two, and bottomed out on the kerbs. So he just jumped back onto the track, and that’s why I had to go off the road. If I would have stayed there, I would have definitely had contact. So then my race could have potentially been over in Turn 2. And that’s why I think where we are now, I’m happy to be where we are now," he explained.
The result highlights that Red Bull still lacks pure pace compared to Mercedes and McLaren at the Madring circuit. Verstappen acknowledged that he could only drive in the middle and struggled to overtake. "Around here, you just drive a little bit in the middle, and you can’t pass," he added.
With this podium, Verstappen collects valuable points, but it is clear that the team needs to improve performance to consistently fight for wins. Meanwhile, Antonelli's maiden Spanish GP victory marks a new era for Mercedes and adds tension to this season's title battle.
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