Max Verstappen has hit back at critics following his radio frustration during the Hungarian Grand Prix. (More Motorsport News)
Verstappen, who has won each of the last three races at the Belgian Grand Prix, which comes up this weekend, became increasingly frustrated at the Hungaroring last week as he finished in fifth place following a coming together with Lewis Hamilton late on.
The three-time reigning Formula One world champion is set for a 10-place grid penalty at Spa this weekend after exceeding his engine allowance for the season.
Verstappen has not won any of the last three races, and has seen his lead at the top of the Driver's Championship cut to 76 points by Lando Norris.
The Dutchman's recent frustrations boiled over in Hungary, spiralling into an X-rated rant at Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
But Verstappen has no regrets.
"People that don't like my language, don't listen in or change the volume down. I'm very driven for success. I've proven that already," said Verstappen.
"I always want to optimise stuff. People can argue that you might not be so vocal on the radio, but that's their opinion.
"My opinion is that it needs to be said at the time to maybe also try and force [things]. That's how it goes.
"We are very open-minded. We are very critical of each other as a team, and that's been working for us very well, so I don't expect that to change."
The last time Verstappen failed to win in four races in a row was in the 2020 season, but Red Bull are showing signs of vulnerability.
And he will face an enormous task to triumph for a 62nd time in the competition, although he is ranked as the fourth driver in F1 history with the most wins without starting from the front of the grid (29).
Verstappen made light work of the power unit components penalty he sustained at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, making his way from 14th to win the race.
Should he emerge victorious this time around, he will become only the third driver to win four in a row on Belgian soil after Ayrton Senna (1988 to 1991) and Jim Clark (1962 to 1965).
"If you look at our last few races where we haven't particularly been the fastest, I wouldn't say that with 10 places extra, we have a chance of winning," said Verstappen.
"But a race can always be turned upside down with moments, so you have to be open-minded, try to make the best of it and that's all we will try to do.
"We also don't know how competitive we will be. There's new tarmac, so we need to see how the tyres respond to that as well.
"There's a lot of unknowns with the weather too. Quite a bit of rain is expected tomorrow and Saturday, so we need to follow the weather and our progression this weekend to see how competitive we are."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
Despite being beaten in both qualifying and the main event in each of the last two races by team-mate Carlos Sainz, Leclerc will be keen to get points on the board in Belgium.
Leclerc has not been among the podium places since his maiden triumph at Monaco in May, but the omens are in his favour with the Italian team achieving more victories (14), more pole positions (12) and more podiums (41) at Spa.
Ferrari have enjoyed recent races in Belgium, taking pole in the last two editions, with Leclerc doing so in 2023.
Should they repeat the trick, it will be the second time they have done so after 1974 (Clay Regazzoni at Nivelles), 1975 and 1976 (Niki Lauda in both at Zolder).
Leclerc and Sainz will contest their 79th race as Ferrari team-mates, making them the seventh-highets pair with the most races with the same team in F1, surpassing the 78 of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg for Mercedes.
Lando Norris - McLaren
While a radio spat of his own at the Hungarian Grand Prix overshadowed an eighth podium place of the season, Norris will be eyeing another impressive run at Spa.
And he now has a fantastic opportunity to close the gap on Verstappen.
The Brit has taken pole position in two of the last four races, after taking just one in his previous 113 starts in F1.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 265
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 189
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 162
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 154
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 149
Constructors
1. Red Bull - 389
2. McLaren - 338
3. Ferrari - 322
4. Mercedes - 241
5. Aston Martin - 69
Excluding Hamilton, who did it twice in 2012, Norris could be the first McLaren driver to take back-to-back pole positions since Kimi Raikkonen in 2006 (Germany and Hungary).
