Max Verstappen was livid at the Hungarian GP, owing to a strategy call that let him get undercut twice by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. However, former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley felt that Verstappen was just frustrated with Red Bull’s lack of pace.

After dominating 2022 and 2023, Verstappen’s current campaign has taken a turn for the worse in the last few races. Red Bull doesn’t have the fastest car anymore and the three-time champion is struggling to fight for wins.

“He was frustrated all day,” Priestley said on BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast. “And I do think it spilled over. [But] the frustration came from the fact that he was slow”.

Priestley’s statement was in response to a question about Verstappen‘s collision with Hamilton. The Dutchman made an attempt to pass Hamilton on lap 63 down at turn one, but he locked up, made contact with the Mercedes driver, and dropped down to fifth place.

“It’s not a situation he is used to being in,” Priestley added.

The former McLaren mechanic understood why many would label him as a “petulant kid” but he insisted that it was difficult for Verstappen to see others comfortably winning races, whereas he is having to work hard and chase the pack.

Priestley points out Red Bull’s mistakes

Priestley also said that Red Bull uncharacteristically made several mistakes at the Hungarian GP. “They got some of their calls wrong. When they review it, I’m pretty sure that’s what they’ll find”. 

On the other hand, the 47-year-old feels that Verstappen should have kept his calm. His team heard him out when he complained about the strategy, so an audacious divebomb down the inside of Hamilton’s car was unnecessary.

Had Verstappen remained calm, he could have overtaken Hamilton on pure pace to finish P3, instead of finishing P5. To make matters worse, Lando Norris reduced the gap to him in the Drivers’ Championship, as did McLaren in the Constructors’.

Over the years, Lewis Hamilton has made several friends belonging to different sporting backgrounds. Among them is Miles Chamley-Watson, a fencer who is currently gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Hamilton follows Watson’s career, and in an interview spoke about the possibility of following in his footsteps someday.

Hamilton was talking to CNN when he revealed his Olympic ambition. However, he isn’t looking at representing his country in the sport he excels the most – motorsports. Maybe because it isn’t a part of the Games, or maybe because the seven-time World Champion has other dreams.

Known to be an avid surfer, the interviewer asked Hamilton if surfing would be his choice to which the 39-year-old replied, “No, I’m not good enough to be surfing. But maybe I don’t know, maybe I’ll do an Olympic sport someday.”  

The F1 summer break will coincide with the Olympics in Paris, and Hamilton has an itch to support his friend Watson in the Games. They speak to and support each other almost every day, which is why Hamilton also knows how hard Watson has worked.

Still, he likely won’t pay a visit to watch the 34-year-old compete. “I am aware of me being at certain events…I know how much extra pressure sometimes it brings. So I haven’t yet committed to it.”

Talking about Olympic participation, however, it is difficult to imagine Hamilton competing in any sport other than racing or perhaps surfing.

The story of how Lewis Hamilton got into surfing

A lover of the ocean and water, Hamilton learned the art of surfing from two legends of the sport- Kelly Slater and Kai Lenny. However, they didn’t pique the Briton’s interest. The credit for that goes to his ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, who introduced him to the sport in 2010.

Hamilton’s first few lessons came at the Wadi Adventure wave pool in Abu Dhabi. By the time 2015 arrived, the Surfing bug had bitten the Brit and he would pair up with the likes of Slater and Lenny to go Surfing.

He has since been an avid surfer, picking up his board every chance he gets. Having narrowly escaped death during one of his outings, the future Ferrari driver shows no signs of stopping. As he puts it, Hamilton is always most comfortable when pushing himself to the limit.