Max Verstappen caused a strange moment during the second free practice session in Budapest when he threw a towel out of his Red Bull cockpit while on track.
The four-time world champion appeared to discover the stray towel had been left inside the car before tossing it out during FP2.
Officials later confirmed the incident would be investigated after the session, with Red Bull then receiving an official warning following the bizarre incident.
This isn’t the first time a team has accidentally left objects in the cockpit.
Max Verstappen caused a strange moment during the second free practice session in Budapest when he threw a towel out of his Red Bull cockpit while on track
|SKY
During practice at the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year, Lando Norris experienced something similar when a spanner and a flashlight were left inside his car.
At the time, Norris radioed: "You have left so many tools in the cockpit. Everything is just falling apart."
Although investigated, McLaren avoided a fine and were issued only a warning for the unsafe release, with Red Bull receiving a similar fate.
Verstappen endured a tough time during both Friday practice sessions at the Hungaroring, struggling to find consistent pace.
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The odd incident came just a day after Verstappen shut down speculation about his future, confirming he will remain at Red Bull despite ongoing struggles for the team this season.
The reigning champion, who is under contract until 2028, had been linked with a potential move to Mercedes.
Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff had confirmed conversations took place at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
However, Verstappen’s recent fourth-place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix means he is no longer eligible to trigger a performance-related exit clause that depended on his standing outside the top three by the summer break.
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Red Bull have been warned after leaving a towel in Max Verstappen’s cockpit in FP2. pic.twitter.com/EFJS1mB2Vd
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) August 1, 2025
Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen addressed the swirling rumors: "I mean, it's quite interesting to follow all that and the amount of nice stories that came out of it.
"But yeah, for me, I've never really said anything about it because I was just focused on talking to the team about how we can improve our performance, future ideas for next year as well.
"I think it's time to basically stop all the rumors and for me, it's always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.
"That was also the general feeling in the team anyway, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car.
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Max Verstappen has struggled in F1 this season
|REUTERS
"I think when you're not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kinds of things. And I never did."
While Red Bull made headlines recently with the sudden dismissal of team boss Christian Horner, Verstappen made it clear at Spa that the decision had no bearing on his own future with the team.