The Verstappen family were clearly very unhappy after the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, despite the fact that reigning world champion Max Verstappen claimed second at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, after fighting through the field from 15th.
Despite having been the fastest driver all weekend, Verstappen was forced to start from 15th after suffering a driveshaft failure in the opening stages of Q2, bringing his qualifying to an abrupt end.
Whilst his starting position was less than ideal, the Dutchman knew that victory was still on the cards, especially after he re-emerged from the pits in fourth just before the halfway point of the race, following a Safety Car to recover Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin.
Verstappen quickly powered his way past George Russell and Fernando Alonso to elevate himself into second; however, by the time he’d done so team-mate Sergio Pérez had established a five-second lead.
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Verstappen was unable to close the gap to Pérez due to the Mexican’s consistent pace, meaning the 25-year-old failed to claim back-to-back victories.
He does remain in the lead of the drivers’ championship by a point, though, after setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.
His dissatisfaction with his result was evident after the race, where he admitted that he was “not happy” to “be second”.
“Of course, I recovered to second which is good and in general, the whole feeling in the team, everyone is happy,” Verstappen said during the post-race press conference.
“But personally, I am not happy.
“I am not here to be second, especially when you are working very hard at the factory to arrive here in a good state and make sure everything is spot on and you have to do a recovery race – which I like, I don’t mind doing it.
“But when you are fighting it out for a championship and it looks like it is only two cars, we have to make sure the two cars are reliable.”
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Verstappen’s father, ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen, was seemingly just as unhappy as the Red Bull driver, who was comically seen amongst Pérez’s celebrations.
Jos clearly didn’t want to be near the Mexican’s celebrations, with the Dutchman having possessed a face like thunder, which just so happened to be caught on camera.
“Jos Verstappen getting caught up in the Sergio Perez celebrations,” wrote ESPN on Twitter, accompanied by the clip.