In the midst of a season of negative interviews, Renger van der Zande has questioned when Max Verstappen is deliberately doing it to rile up himself and Red Bull. Although Verstappen is a Grand Prix winner in F1 2025,

Johnny Herbert believes Max Verstappen was “unprofessional and disrespectful” on the Saudi Arabian GP podium after finishing second to Oscar Piastri on Sunday. Former F1 race winner Herbert added that Verstappen should have been given a 10-second penalty for the incident at turn one on lap one with Piastri, instead of a five-second penalty.

Are incessant questions over his future and the FIA's clampdown on driver speech sapping Verstappen's enthusiasm for Formula 1?