Rosberg warns Red Bull over ‘angry and impatient’ Verstappen

2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg has stated Max Verstappen is becoming “angry and impatient” amid Red Bull’s ongoing slump.

The reigning world champions started the season in strong fashion with Verstappen winning five out of the opening seven races.

However, it has slipped back in the pecking order of late with Verstappen not taking to the top step of the podium since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

The Dutchman endured a difficult race from Monza last weekend as he crossed the line in sixth place – matching his worst result of the season.

As Red Bull look to ensure it ends the season leading both F1 championships, Rosberg stated a sense of impatience is creeping into the squad.

“He will be shocked and you can see him getting angry a lot,” Rosberg told the Sky F1 podcast. “After the slow pit stop he had in Monza, he was hitting the steering wheel during the race.

“So he’s getting angry and impatient because, of course, he’s used to only winning, so going back from winning is not easy for a driver who’s just used to winning.

“But the whole team is getting impatient, the stress levels rise and the panic rises. It’s incredible because they just don’t know also what’s going on, they don’t understand it.”

Rosberg backs Verstappen to stay competitive

Verstappen ended the Italian Grand Prix 37 seconds down on race leader Charles Leclerc while he was bested by 22 seconds by Lando Norris at Zandvoort.

Despite enduring a painful event at Monza, Rosberg has backed Verstappen to keep himself in contention across the coming rounds.

“Let’s just wait a little bit, because let’s remember, in Zandvoort they still finished second fair and square,” he said. They still had a good car. It was only beaten by Lando, so let’s wait.

“Monza is a complete outlier so we shouldn’t focus on the performance delta too much from Monza. Then again, all the tracks coming up are complete outliers. Baku, Singapore as well – so let’s wait and see.

“But I still think he will be able to race for second place and maybe even the odd win in the next couple of races.”