He left the paddock questioning whether he was even able to contend for the drivers\u2019 title against Oscar Piastri<\/a> and Lando Norris<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe the moment he gave up, in a way, his options,\u201d Spanish journalist\u00a0Jes\u00fas Balseiro told the F1 Nation podcast in Barcelona.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to another driver who knows about fighting with a less competitive car, Fernando Alonso.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was saying that maybe this was a relief that [Max] doesn\u2019t have to fight anymore with worse arms for something which may be impossible against these McLarens.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look smart to lose a P5 on merit which could have been a P3.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand why Max was that mad.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation with Red Bull, having a set of hard tyres and having to give back the position\u2026 maybe this was a situation which wasn\u2019t well played by Red Bull.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Where will Red Bull be close’ to McLaren? Red Bull<\/p>\n Julianne Cerasoli added a stern warning:\u00a0\u201cWe will look back at this grand prix and think it was when things started to go really wrong for Red Bull<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis track has a lot of fast corners. They were doing well in the fast corners, before.<\/p>\n \u201cSaudi, Japan, Imola – they seemed able to fight McLaren <\/a>in the fast corners. Here? Fast corners but medium speed.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really surprised by the gap in qualifying, three tenths. And the gap in the race too.<\/p>\n \u201cPut that in Max\u2019s account for frustration.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone expected Red Bull to be closer to McLaren here. And if they\u2019re not close here, then where will they be close?\u201d<\/p>\n Verstappen later\u00a0apologised for his part in the clash<\/a> with Russell.<\/p>\n Christian Horner\u00a0revealed that Verstappen expressed regret<\/a> in their team debrief, too.<\/p>\n![\"Red](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1749328392_638_XPB_1352142_HiRes.jpg\")
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