Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lost his temper on the team radio during the first practice session at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix. He called Alpine driver Pierre Gasly a “blind idiot” after a dangerous blocking incident at high speed.
According to Sportskeeda, the Dutch driver was on a cooldown lap and talking to his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, about brake balance when the incident happened. Gasly was taking the racing line through the fastest section of Turn 2 and Turn 3, forcing Verstappen to take emergency action and pass around the outside of the slow Alpine.
Verstappen’s angry radio message was clear: “Oh my god mate! Who’s this blind idiot.” The blocking incident is particularly risky at the Lusail International Circuit because the track is so fast and demanding. Getting off the racing line to avoid traffic breaks your rhythm through multiple corners, which is exactly what happened to Verstappen just a quarter of the way into the session.
Operation Sports App
Your ultimate companion for sports gaming. Access in-depth coverage, thoughtful discussion, and a community built around the games—and sports—you love.
Your ultimate sports gaming companion.
This kind of incident is especially dangerous at the high-speed Lusail track
The stakes are very high. Since the Qatar GP is a sprint race weekend, Friday’s first practice is the only practice time the teams get. This makes every single lap important for setup and preparation. Verstappen is also in a tight championship fight. He’s only 24 points behind Lando Norris after McLaren’s double disqualification at the Las Vegas GP. The Red Bull driver’s current F1 ratings reflect his strong performance this season.
The blocking wasn’t the only technical problem Verstappen faced during the session. Like all drivers, he started his run on hard tires because Pirelli set a maximum of 25 laps per set in Qatar. He quickly told his engineer that the front left tire performance was dropping after only a few laps.
A few minutes later, he had another technical worry. He told his engineer that the steering wheel felt completely wrong and wasn’t giving him the feedback he needed. He said, “Ah, the steering wheel really feels weird suddenly. I don’t know what it is.”
This wasn’t just a Red Bull problem. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also complained to his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, about the feedback from his steering wheel. This suggests the high-speed nature of the Lusail track might be causing similar issues for drivers across the grid.
Despite the dramatic encounter with Gasly, Verstappen managed to set a provisional fastest lap right after the incident. Verstappen’s partnership with EA Sports has made him one of the most recognizable faces in racing games. That speed didn’t last long, as George Russell quickly beat his time. While Verstappen looked fast on hard tires, he struggled badly on soft tires during qualifying runs. He ended up over half a second slower than the McLaren drivers who topped the session.
Published: Nov 28, 2025 05:15 pm