Red Bull Racing maintained its 100% win record of the 2023 Formula One season by winning the recently concluded Spanish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen, the team’s young and dynamic driver, crossed the checkered flag at the P1 position and added another win to his tally. The Dutch driver also elevated his lead in the driver’s championship table.
However, a particular incident during the race caught the fans’ attention. During the final laps of the race, Verstappen received a few warnings for pushing the track limits. As a result, his race engineer asked him to maintain a steady pace and bring the car home safely. However, Verstappen chose to ignore the team’s orders and made a decision that invited a lot of criticism.
Max Verstappen Explains His Side Of The Story After Receiving Criticism For Defying Team Orders
Despite winning the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull’s lead driver, Max Verstappen, remain in the news for all the wrong reasons. Max received a black and white flag as the last warning for violating track limits. Another violation would have resulted in a five seconds penalty. As a result, his race engineer conveyed the team orders to the Dutch driver on the radio. He asked Max to bring the car home safely at a steady within the white lines. However, Verstappen wanted to push for the fastest lap and ignored the team’s directions. Clearly, his defiant attitude garnered a lot of criticism. Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, stated that he would have a talk with the Dutch diver and demand an explanation.
At last, Max Verstappen had to come out to explain his side of the story. The Dutchman said he did nothing wrong as he drove between the white lines. It’s just that he went a little bit faster on the said lap. But Max claimed he knew how much pace his car could generate at the moment. People on the other side of the team radio would not possibly understand. But he knew what he could do and did not regret the decision he made. Verstappen further brushed off rumors of tensions with the team management by saying that everyone, including Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, laughed off the whole issue. Hence, the entire Red Bull team is past that incident and ready to move on.
Verstappen Accused Of Large-Scale Tax Evasion
Problems continue to mount for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. Recently, reports flared up over the internet that Max has been evading taxes worth 200 million euros. However, his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, has dismissed all these allegations and said that the Dutch driver is duly paying taxes in all the countries from where he generates any sort of income. The manager further accused the media of cooking up false stories to malign the racing driver’s image.
Max Verstappen is the highest-paid driver in Formula One. Prior to the 2022 season, he signed a record contract worth 40 million euros with Red Bull Racing, which made him the highest-paid driver on the grid. Apart from these, the Dutchman has large-scale investments and business ventures which serve as a passive income. At just 25 years of age, the Red Bull driver has made a fortune for himself, which is all likely to grow in the coming years.
