Sky F1 pundit Naomi Schiff slams ‘disrespectful’ Max Verstappen after angry radio rant
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Sky F1 pundit Naomi Schiff labelled Max Verstappen “disrespectful” and criticised his conduct over team radio during a highly-charged Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Verstappen was involved in incidents with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton during a dramatic 70-lap race and a crash with the latter saw him fall to fifth when a podium was on the cards.
The Red Bull driver also repeatedly swore during conversations with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and criticised the team’s strategy as they opted to pit later than their competitors, labelling it “s***.”
Verstappen’s emotions boiled over after the race, insisting critics of his behaviour “can all f*** off” and, in a separate interview, stated that people who don’t like his emotions on the radio should “stay at home.”
“I’m just thinking about what Max said there about ‘staying home’, I don’t know if he’s referring to the team members or the fans,” former W Series driver Schiff told Sky Sports F1. “But I find that quite a disrespectful message.
“He’s got to remember there’s no I in team and whilst he’s their top driver and they always put him forward, he’s got to remember there’s loads of people behind him to put these results together.
“On a day like today, sometimes you need to keep the team on your side and if you talk to people like that, and say things like that, you get them off-side.”
Verstappen has often been emotional in conversations with engineer Lambiase in the past but Schiff believes the three-time world champion needs to think about other people – “including kids” – listening to their interactions.
“I know GP’s [Lambiase] been getting a lot of incoming from Max in the past and they’ve always said that’s the relationship they have and that’s fine,” she added.
“But there might be other people who are on that radio who are also listening, who are part of this team, who don’t like being spoken to like that.
“I don’t think it’s cool. I know as a driver when you’ve got your helmet on, it’s a heated environment. Footballers don’t have microphones on their shirts and I’m sure if we heard them and their thoughts, we’d hear a lot of colourful words.
“But in this sport, you do have a radio mic that’s going out to the whole world, all your fans, including kids.”
Oscar Piastri won the race in Budapest after McLaren instructed Norris to give up first place for his team-mate. Nevertheless, Norris’ second-place finish cut Verstappen’s lead in the world championship to 76 points ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.