Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen gave Red Bull a blast of radio rage after the team told him to abort his final qualifying lap at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday and he ended up eighth.
โWhy? Why?,โ screamed the Dutch 25-year-old as he was told to pit instead of going for pole position at a race he needs to win if he is to secure a second championship with five rounds to spare.
โWhat theโฆwhat are you guys saying? Unbelievable, mate. I donโt get it. What theโฆis this about?,โ Verstappen raged, with the expletives bleeped out on the television broadcast.
His race engineer replied that they would explain all privately.
Verstappen was still frustrated afterwards, telling Sky Sports television there would have been insufficient fuel in the car to provide a mandatory post-qualifying sample had he not aborted the lap.
โOn the final lap they told me to box and then I realised what was going to happen and we ran out of fuel. Thatโs just incredibly frustrating and shouldnโt happen,โ he said.
โWe should have seen that way earlier. Iโm not happy at all at the moment. I know of course itโs always a team effort and I can make mistakes and the team can make mistakes but itโs never acceptable.
โOf course you learn from it but this is really bad, to be honest. It shouldnโt happen.โ
Verstappen has his first chance to clinch the title in Sundayโs race but he must score 22 points more than Ferrariโs Charles Leclerc, who starts on pole at a circuit where overtaking is difficult.
He must also score 13 points more than Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who starts on the front row with victory in mind.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton lines up third for Mercedes.
