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As the trumpets of the Longhorn band faded out, the 2023 United States Grand Prix was off to a racy start. With Max Verstappen in P6, a fierce battle was expected to go down between the top three. However, the Dutch driver joined the party sooner than anyone but RB would have liked. Unfortunately for him, it was not as ‘fun’ as he had previously thought. “It’s gonna make Sunday more fun,” Max Verstappen said in a post-sprint interview on Saturday. However, he might have switched tense and stressful for fun. And if we have taken any notes from his years in Formula 1, the world champion loathes being under pressure. And fans poured in their critical opinions.

As the lights went out at the United States Grand Prix, Lando Norris had a phenomenal start from P2. Charging at the Scarlet Ferrari, he took the lead from Charles Leclerc before turn 1. How phenomenal is that for the young Briton? However, the McLaren driver’s lead was cut short in the twenty-eighth lap of the race as the charging Bull did what it does best.

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Max Verstappen chomped through the gap Norris had built. However, with the Dutch Driver on mediums, and Norris on hards, the race soon started to fall apart for the world champion. It was an ugly situation for Verstappen going for his 50th win of his career. As the team radio for Red Bull soon transmitted profanities, fans took to Twitter to school the RB driver in a lesson of ‘humility’.

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“He’s having to push..” Fans left fuming as a whiny Max Verstappen battles his RB19 at the US Grand Prix

As Lando Norris started to close in on the Dutch driver, the Red Bull pit wall remained silent. However, Verstappen, aware of his disadvantage, radioed, “Mate, these brakes are so s**t compared to yesterday. What a piece of s**t!”  The Dutch driver has a slight reputation for being a hot-headed driver.

His early interviews, although provide laughs, are incriminating evidence for his ‘anger’. Fans reacted condescendingly to his misdemeanor caught on the team radio.

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The world champion had a new rival this week. No, it was not McLaren, Mercedes, or Ferrari. It was his own car! However, fans feel he’s gotten so used to wins being served on a plate, that he’s forgotten what putting up a fight is like.

While others resorted to questioning his skills as a driver.

Apparently, the last lap wasn’t the only controversial element to come out of the 2021 season. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Dutch driver might have pulled an ‘illegal move’ on the Briton. And fans have not forgotten about the infamous brake test.

Toto Wolff called Lewis Hamilton the only driver on the grid who never moans. Oh, how that backfired. Tweets and Instagram comments flooded in calling it a ‘blatant’ lie. However, at the US GP fans took notice, that when it comes to whining, Hamilton isn’t a Lone Star.

The three-time world champion has had lovely ‘Sunday drives’ at the tracks so far.

However, he broke a sweat, perhaps for the second time this year.

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With the mediums on the Red Bull and the closing cars, the RB pit wall rolled the dice. Eventually, it worked in their favor with the closing hard tire stint, as Verstappen got his 50th Grand Prix victory.

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WATCH THIS STORY | Charles Leclerc Gets Into Heated Debated With Max Verstappen Fan Over Dinner Time Conversation

Still, do you think Max Verstappen was being ungrateful to his team? Or was it just the adrenaline of the chase?

Written by

Ashanya

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One take at a time

Ashanya is a greenhorn F1 writer at EssentiallySports. With her passion for F1 erupting post 'Drive to Survive', she is no drama fanatic. Her background as a science graduate lends her writing extensive research, from going through races and post-race interviews to reading through countless articles.
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Edited by

Aishwary Gaonkar