Verstappen reveals 'embarrassing' blunder that led to Marko anger

Max Verstappen has revealed how a blunder in his first season with Red Bull led to anger from Motorsport Advisor Helmet Marko.

The Dutchman secured a third Drivers' championship at the Qatar Grand Prix as his dominance over the rest of the field continued with his 14th win in 17 races.

His success has furthered his contribution to the team he joined as a teenager and made his F1 debut with, albeit in the junior Toro Rosso team [now AlphaTauri].

Struggles for Daniil Kvyat and strong pace from Verstappen saw him promoted to Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo after just four races in 2016 and he won his first race with the team in Spain following a crash between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

But in conversation with former Red Bull junior and Formula E and WEC driver Antonio Felix da Costa, Verstappen revealed even he has failed to escape the wrath of Marko.

Marko anger

At the 2016 United States Grand Prix, Verstappen was chasing down the frontrunners when race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase gave an instruction to push harder.

Believing this was a signal to pit at the end of the lap, Verstappen did so, only to realise he had made a mistake.

"During the race, I was in P5 I think, but I was getting closer and closer to the guys in front of me.

"My engineer told me to push. Normally when he says that, it means I have to make a pit stop soon. At the end of that lap I drove into the pit lane and immediately I realized 'oh my God, he never told me to come in for a pit stop, what have I done?'

"So yeah, I yelled over the radio that I was making a pit stop and suddenly you could see all the mechanics running around. That was an embarrassing moment.

"Helmut Marko was of course quite angry with me after the race. But yes, what can you say? I just said that I made a mistake and that I had screwed up, that's all you can do.

"We make mistakes, we are not robots. Marko appreciates it when you admit your mistakes."