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Max Verstappen could still be “easily replaced” at Red Bull if he makes mistakes, according to ex-Red Bull driver Filipe Albuquerque. The Portuguese driver warned Red Bull bosses could get fed up and drop the driver if he made driver errors despite winning two championships.
He made the comments to justify the Dutchman’s regular team radio meltdowns, which he put down to the pressure of being in F1. He said drivers “can’t be nice” due to the ongoing threat of losing their race seat if things go wrong.
Posting on Twitter, Albuquerque said: “You could say Max complains too much to a team that gave him so much but, the moment he starts to do mistakes he is easily replaced. It’s not complaining, it’s the F1 pressure. It goes both ways. You can’t be a nice guy.”
Albuquerque received Red Bull backing as a Spanish Formula Three driver and later Formula Renault. He was crowned Red Bull’s Junior of the Year in 2006 before moving up to GP2 a year later.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton admits Max Verstappen fear as Brit serves reality check
Verstappen snapped back: “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that.” The Red Bull driver mounted a dramatic comeback on his medium tyres, closing in on Hamilton within a handful of laps.
He dived down the inside at turn 12 after assistance from DRS and quickly opened up a one-second gap to prevent the Mercedes star from getting back past. Verstappen appeared to apologise to his team for hitting back after the race.
The reigning champion said: “I gave it everything out there even though we had that top. I was a bit upset but I just keep pushing and congrats guys what an amazing season for winning also the constructors’. You guys really deserve it.”
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