Jos Verstappen believes his son Max needs to think more when battling for position after feeling the move on Sebastian Vettel during Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix ‘wasn’t really on’.
The younger Verstappen was on fresher, softer tyres when he made an ill-judged move on Vettel at the hairpin, with both drivers spinning as a result, with the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver being handed a ten-second time penalty for the offence.
The elder Verstappen felt it was an error in judgement on Sunday, and although he does not want his son to alter his driving style, he will need to think more before making such rash moves in the future.
“The overtake on Vettel really wasn’t on,” said Jos to Dutch TV channel Ziggo’s Peptalk show. “That wasn’t possible. It was an error of judgement.
“In some circumstances Max just has to think more. I don’t want him to change his driving style. He passed two people at the start. He did that perfectly. That’s what we all want to see.
“But we don’t want to see these kinds of actions. He needs to have it under control. He needs to think. Last weekend was very painful, but we’ll have to talk about it and analyse what happened in a normal way. This can’t happen. He already knows it, I don’t have to say much.”
Jos admitted he was not mad with his son for making the move, but instead he was disappointed that a potential win slipped him by, and Max will himself know how painful it is to finish off the podium.
“Mad is not the right word, but I’m disappointed,” he said. “But it’s more painful for himself.”
