Verstappen wins in Canada without pit radio – "At least there was no complaining"

Created: 06/21/2022, 09:53

By: Stefan Schmid

With the end of the safety car phase, Max Verstappen lost radio contact with the team.

Despite one-way street radio, he can save the lead to the finish.

Montreal – After the restart as a result of the safety car phase, the Red Bull team wondered why Max Verstappen was unusually silent.

Finally, the team realized that the radio link in the direction of the driver worked, but that their reactions could not be transmitted in reverse.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman was able to win in Canada in an exciting final phase.

Max Verstappen - forced to silence

Even for Verstappen himself, the failure of the pit radio could not be clearly localized.

"I guess it must have worked before, or it didn't work before, which probably wouldn't have bothered you,"

quoted the Dutchman as saying.

"So there was at least no complaining," said Red Bull boss Helmut Marko after the Canadian GP on

with a wink.

Those responsible in the Red Bull racing team will certainly have been disturbed, as a functioning team radio is a prerequisite for tactical discussions within the team.

However, since Verstappen is well known for not playing the calmest tone over the radio, the winner at least shows some self-irony.

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Only shortly before - after the second pit stop - did Red Bull racing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase feel Verstappen's undiplomatic streak.

After the pit crew had actually done a good job, Lewis Hamilton almost collided when leaving the pit lane.

"Why the hell didn't you make sure that I was in front at the end?" Verstappen accused the engineer.

Lambiase - already used to similar failures from his driver - replied calmly that they had simply been too slow.

Verstappen also wins with one-way street radio

Shortly after the incident with Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda crashed and the subsequent safety car phase, which main competitor Carlos Sainz used to have new tires fitted to his Ferrari.

But even after the restart, Verstappen was able to fend off the ever-closer Sainz and bring victory across the finish line in just a few tenths of a second.

In the end, there was a victory for Red Bull - currently first in the constructors' championship - and Verstappen and a crew whose ears should be a little more relaxed than after a race with Verstappen's continuous sound reinforcement.