Max Verstappen handed opening after Red Bull 'tensions'

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has suggested that Max Verstappen now has an opportunity to prove whether his preferred set-up direction is the correct approach for Red Bull.

During last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen expressed frustration that Red Bull had opted to follow its own direction rather than implement his suggested changes, stating the team was “convinced that it was going to work.”

Despite finishing on the podium for the first time this season, the Dutchman remained dissatisfied with the balance of the RB22.

Speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher argued that Verstappen’s disagreement with the team’s approach should not have been made public.

"Max didn't mince words,” Schumacher stated. “He said, 'I told them it's all wrong.' You can see from that too that there are tensions. 

“In a way I think it's nice that he shows the back of his tongue and shares it all like that, but really it should stay internal. 

“Still, I thought the weekend in itself was fairly calm.”

However, Schumacher asserted Verstappen has now been given the opportunity to show his method is the right one to extract pace from the car.

“His first task now is to get the car back on track at all,” he said.

“The team should listen to him, now they haven't done that for once, so he has every chance to show us all - but especially himself and the team - that his proposals work, in order to get back to the front.”