Max Verstappen has been having a tough year with the RB21 so far. The 4-time champion looks unlikely to win his fifth consecutive title in a row as Red Bull struggle with consistency mainly. The Austrian giants have fallen behind McLaren, and their car looks far superior compared to what RB have produced.
Verstappen must have aimed to put up a solid performance at the Hungarian GP. But unfortunately for the driver, he hasn’t managed to get a good start to that as well, after a recent incident. He threw out a towel during free practice, and it has landed him in trouble with the FIA and fans as well.
F1 fans criticize Max Verstappen for controversial decision at Hungarian GP practice
During the second practice, Red Bull made some setup changes to Verstappen’s car, but they left a towel in the car. Neither the driver nor the team noticed it, and Verstappen decided to throw it out mid-lap at Turn 3. He stands by his decision to throw it out on the circuit and claims that the towel could’ve been stuck in the pedals.
It was potentially dangerous, what if it got into brakes or across a driver’s helmet blocking their vision. Thankfully it didn’t but it was dangerous.
— T p (@Tomp_14) August 1, 2025
Despite the Dutchman’s best efforts, fans have been unforgiving about the incident. One fan wrote, “It was potentially dangerous, what if it got into brakes or across a driver’s helmet blocking their vision.” The user believes that the act was dangerous for other drivers if it was dispensed in an unsafe way.
If that was any other driver it would of been a grid drop. The driver brings it into the pits he doesn’t throw it onto the circuit. Typical fia.
— Haydn606 (@Haymans66) August 1, 2025
Another user claims, “If that was any other driver it would of been a grid drop. The driver brings it into the pits he doesn’t throw it onto the circuit. Typical [FIA]”.
Golden boy is once again getting away with a penalty. 🤦#HungarianGP #F1
— Marcelo Oliveira (@hermides73) August 1, 2025
The governing body of F1 comes under criticism here as fans question a mere warning to the Red Bull team.
As always 🙄 pic.twitter.com/dOGipGhmA4
— nig309 (@nig309) August 1, 2025
Other fans also believe that the FIA should’ve punished Verstappen with a penalty. Although it is a controversial incident that could have endangered other drivers on the track, the FIA recognised Verstappen’s best efforts to safely dispense the towel.
Verstappen breaks silence on viral incident
Verstappen said, “It was just a towel you normally wipe your face with when you come back in, so it was still in the car when I went out. Instead of it potentially flying in between my feet, which was the dangerous part, I drove off line and got rid of it in the safest way possible, so I think the stewards understand.”
Max dispenses a towel from the cockpit 👀#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/MVNPCvqyYP
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025
The FIA also concluded the incident with a warning to Red Bull, recognising the danger that Verstappen could’ve faced if the towel remained in the car. They also admitted that Verstappen made the best attempt to throw it as far away as possible from the track.
Verstappen managed to scramble through with a P14 result after FP2. He was 1.167 seconds off Lando Norris, who went the fastest. It will be interesting to see if Verstappen can improve on his time at the Hungaroring circuit during qualifying this weekend.
