Palmer applauds Verstappen and Red Bull: "Formula 1 is team sport".

In his column on behalf of Formula 1 Palmer discusses the crash of Verstappen prior to the Grand Prix. "It's a rather rare mistake for drivers to crash their car in the warm-up lap. It seems a ridiculous mistake to make, it actually is. Still, it happens faster than you would expect, especially under certain conditions like rain. The warm-up laps are the only moments for a driver to feel where the limit is. Verstappen was clearly pushing harder than the others."
 
"When you drive the Hungaroring, the wall feels pretty far away at turn 12, and I've rarely seen anyone crash. So presumably Verstappen thought it was a good place to shift the brake limits. But he underestimated it, and when he panicked with the front wheels locked, the rear of the car was also destroyed and he was sent into the barriers".

Unbelievable job done

Red Bull barely fought back on the grid within 25 minutes. "It shows what an incredible job the Red Bull mechanics have done, in the heat of battle - on the grid, ticking the clock, the cameras around you and the world watching. Somehow, in some extraordinary way, they fixed the car."
 
"It was crucial for Max to keep a cool head at this time. In the end there is nothing the driver can do at that moment. Formula 1 is a team sport and this is where the mechanics, who are among the most skilled in the world, can earn their living", says Palmer.

Max Verstappen Mode

"But by the time the lights went out, he was back in normal Max Verstappen mode and got his head down and his elbows out, making a fantastic start and optimising the wet conditions, as he always seems to do, to get behind Hamilton in that second place. With that, he paid back the hard work of the mechanics."