"Does he really need to say Max Verstappen didn’t get enough sleep 5 times?": Fans unimpressed by presenter's mention of driver's sim racing schedule

Fans were left unimpressed by F1 presenter David Croft's criticism of Max Verstappen's sim racing schedule during the Hungarian GP. Croft mentioned how the three-time world champion was sim racing late at night before Sunday's race.

During the Hungarian GP, Verstappen was in an intense battle with Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman was trying to catch the seven-time world champion and take the third and final podium place, but the Mercedes driver defended well.

While they were scrambling for P3, Verstappen complained on the radio about Red Bull's strategy that led to him chasing Hamilton.

Before the Hungarian GP, Verstappen was seen driving on his simulator in his hotel room after the qualifying session on Saturday. He did multiple stints with his eSports team, Redline, who were participating in the 24 hours of Spa race in iRacing. He was seen on Redline's Twitch stream, driving late into the night before the race.

Croft said on Sky Sport's global F1 feed that the Dutchman sounded like a driver who had a late sim racing session at night. He mentioned the three-time world champion's sim racing schedule several times on live broadcast, connecting it to his on-track performance at the Hungarian GP.

Towards the end of the race, Max Verstappen also crashed with Hamilton while overtaking him on lap 63. He eventually secured P5, while the Mercedes star stood on the podium, at P3.

Many fans criticized Croft for pointing out Max Verstappen's sim racing schedule multiple times during the Hungarian GP. They talked about how the F1 commentator was simply making a drama out of Verstappen's hobby. One of them criticized Martin Brundle with Croft as well.

"He really does my head in every race. He can’t commentate an entire weekend without becoming a drama host. It’s so painful to listen to. Does he really need to say Verstappen didn’t get enough sleep 5 times? No, he doesn’t even need to say it once because it’s absolute nonsense," a fan wrote.

"I’m glad that Sky’s gossip column style of broadcasting is starting to be figured out by people. The idea that Croft is an all-time great is laughable. It’s getting worse with every race that passes," another added.

"Crofty and Brundle have always been terrible. Glad people are noticing it now," one chimed in.

One fan also pointed out how Anthony Davidson, another F1 commentator, tried to speak up against David Croft's comments about Max Verstappen's sim-racing comments.

Another follower suggested that Croft should be removed from F1 commentary and that Alex Jacques or Harry Benjamin should commentate for Sky Sports.

"Even Ant decided to speak up against it saying some don't need a full night's sleep and man still kept on blabbering," another follower pointed out.

"Get Crofty out and get Alex Jacques/Harry Benjamin in!" a fan suggested.

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Max Verstappen flips those who criticized his angry team radio during Hungarian GP

Max Verstappen boldly flipped his critics who complained that his behavior and radio messages were too harsh during the Hungarian GP.

The three-time world champion didn't have the best race in Hungary as he started from P3 and ended P5 after crashing with Hamilton while trying to overtake him.

Speaking to the media after the race, including Sportskeeda, he was asked about his critics talking about how harsh he was during the Hungarian GP. A frustrated Verstappen replied:

“They can all f**k off.”

Despite finishing fifth at the Hungarian GP, the Red Bull star continues to lead the drivers' championship with 265 points.