Untelevised team radio footage from the Barcelona Grand Prix has revealed the moment Max Verstappen called for the FIA to penalise a rival driver.<\/p>\n
Verstappen came home a distant fourth in Spain last weekend, trailing the race-winning Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by 40 seconds.<\/p>\n
Untelevised Max Verstappen team radio emerges from Barcelona GP<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n The four-time world champion endured a lonely race in Barcelona, finishing 18 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri\u2019s fifth-placed McLaren.<\/p>\n Verstappen and Red Bull have endured a muted start to the F1 2026 season, with the 28-year-old limited to a single podium finish so far.<\/p>\n Untelevised footage from last weekend\u2019s race has revealed how Verstappen called for a rival driver to be penalised for failing to move aside as he came up to lap him.<\/p>\n The identity of the driver in question has not been verified, but Verstappen was believed to have been referring to Alpine\u2019s Pierre Gasly, who finished a lap down in seventh place.<\/p>\n Verstappen said on Lap 53 of 66 in Barcelona: \u201cMate, this guy should get a penalty.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s staying way too long in front. It\u2019s just a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen had another encounter with a backmarker on Lap 43, when he lapped the 12th-placed Williams of Carlos Sainz.<\/p>\n Sainz did not seem to be aware of Verstappen\u2019s presence as the Red Bull moved around the outside of Turn 3, with Verstappen momentarily forced to put two wheels off track as the Williams moved towards the racing line.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my God,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cWhat, he didn\u2019t see me or something?\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen made a number of complaints about the RB22 car over the course of the race.<\/p>\n As early as Lap 10, he raised concerns over the power delivery of the Red Bull-Ford power unit. He said: \u201cNo power at all out of there. Engine just didn\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n In a message that made the official TV broadcast, meanwhile, Verstappen said of his struggles with tyres: \u201cYeah, struggling a lot with the tyres.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m even wobbling on the straight. It\u2019s quite impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n In the closing stages of the race, Verstappen reported an issue with the car\u2019s downshifts, with the problem particularly troublesome at Turn 10.<\/p>\n The full exchange between Verstappen and his race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, from Lap 58 went as follows:<\/p>\n Lambiase: \u201cOther than Hamilton, race leader, you are the fastest car on track at the moment, Max.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen: \u201cI have some really random \u2013 like awful \u2013 downshifts.\u201d<\/p>\n Lambiase: \u201cOK, standby.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen: \u201cAh, this corner is horrendous.\u201d<\/p>\n Lambiase: \u201cIs that the downshifts you\u2019re referring to, Max?\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen: \u201cWell, yeah, yeah. You can\u2019t see it?\u201d<\/p>\n Lambiase: \u201cMax, there\u2019s nothing really on the downshift we can help you with. Only option worth a try is perhaps plus one on the offset. Plus one on the offset for Turn 10.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen added on the penultimate lap: \u201cMy gearbox must be f*cked, it\u2019s really bad now.\u201d<\/p>\n Max Verstappen vs Isack Hadjar: Red Bull head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season<\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n The full exchange at the chequered flag between Verstappen, Lambiase and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies went as follows:<\/p>\n Lambiase: \u201cWell done, Max. That was a great effort today, mate. Good job. We\u2019ll have fail 84 and charge on, please. Fail 84 and charge on. Well done.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen: \u201cYeah, I think so. I mean, yeah, it\u2019s [inaudible] race. The other ones ahead were too quick. But yeah, it\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n Mekies: \u201cWell done, Max. It was the maximum that could be achieved today. Well done with the pace and tyre management all through the race. Good stuff. The rest of the gap, we know we need to chase it.\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen: \u201cYeah, exactly. Yeah, just tricky with tyres.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n