Max Verstappen accused of playing Red Bull mind games during Dutch Grand Prix

Martin Brundle reckons Max Verstappen sent a clear message to his Red Bull squad with his performance at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen was completely outpaced by Lando Norris as he was beaten at Zandvoort for the first time following three successive wins at his home track. Starting second, the Dutchman initially thrilled the local crowd by overtaking the pole-sitting McLaren at the first turn.

However, Norris stayed close to the Red Bull before easily cruising by. Verstappen couldn’t match the speed of his adversary, who finished a whopping 22.8 seconds ahead at the finish, narrowing the gap to just 70 points in the F1 drivers’ standings.

The defeat was a stark one for Verstappen on a circuit he had previously ruled. But Brundle believes the extent of the loss might have been his way of sounding the alarm at Red Bull, who have seen their huge pace advantage wiped out by McLaren, with Mercedes and Ferrari also catching up.

Speaking on Sky Sports post-race, Brundle said: “I would hazard a guess that was not as fast as Max could go. He knew he couldn’t beat Lando and dropping back like that is going to give the factory a hurry up, isn’t it? I’d be pretty sure of that.”