"I had a nut in my hand": Max Verstappen's hilarious team radio during the F1 Imola GP FP2
Max Verstappen left the fans in stitches when he informed Red Bull that he lost a nut during the FP2 session of the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He stated that he found a nut touching his foot under braking, but it dropped off his hand and fell somewhere around his seat.
The four-time world champion had subdued free practice sessions on day one of the 2025 Imola Grand Prix. In FP1, he finished P7, over four tenths slower than McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Moreover, in FP2, he ranked P5, again five tenths slower than the leader, Piastri.
Despite Red Bull bringing upgrades, Verstappen complained about an unreliable rear that caused him to drift. Moreover, he informed his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, that something was troubling him around his foot under braking.
In a mysterious radio message that left fans in splits, Verstappen said he found something like a nut inside his cockpit. He had it in his hand but dropped it onto his seat and later drove to the pits to recover it.
"Can you have a look… Oh, I lost it. It's like a nut. I had a nut in my hand, but it fell into my seat," Verstappen said on team radio.
Following the FP2 session, the Dutchman admitted that RB21 is not fast enough. He pointed out how he got overtaken by the McLaren, and that is a clear indication of his car's shortcomings. Moreover, he added that his confidence for the rest of the weekend was not very high.
“We tried a lot. Some things worked better than others, but overall, not fast enough at the moment. I think it’s the same in the long run. I got overtaken by the McLarens, so that says enough, right? They pull away," he told Crash.net.
Notably, Verstappen is 32 points behind championship leader Piastri in the title race.
Jacques Villeneuve describes Max Verstappen's nut situation as 'dangerous'
Max Verstappen had a nut loose in his cockpit, as he informed Red Bull through a mysterious radio message. While fans laughed off the message, F1 pundit Jacques Villeneuve said that having a nut flying around the pedal could have been dangerous.
Talking to Sky Sports, he said:
"The car looks like a handful. It's hard to drive. He's really muscling it through. But finding a nut in your pedals, whoa, that's scary because it could lock the gas pedal or the brake pedal. Does it come from the car that something came loose, or was it forgotten there? That's something to find out."
Overall, according to timesheets from the FP1 and FP2 sessions, McLaren appear to have a significant pace advantage. Verstappen is 4-5 tenths slower, meaning the rest of the weekend could be a difficult ride for him.