'They're trying to 'kill' Verstappen'

Former Benetton and Renault boss Flavio Briatore has confessed that he is a huge fan of Max Verstappen's talents, but believes the many fines and penalties given to the young prodigy by F1 stewards are only serving to 'kill' his talents on the circuit.

Verstappen has already won three Grand Prix races at the age of 20-years-old and is believed by many to be a future world champion due to his talents on the course. Indeed, F1 legend Niki Lauda has claimed Verstappen is 'the most fantastic' young driver he has ever seen.

Briatore is also a fan and has urged stewards to stop curtailing his progress by being more lenient with their penalty decisions.

"Verstappen is Formula 1's new star," Briatore told Auto Hebdo.

"He's doing quite well, but they're trying to 'kill' him. It's crazy. If I was running F1, I'd want to see twelve Verstappens on the grid!

"Max is an exceptional driver. He's young, he mocks the system and he overtakes. The public loves those qualities."

Verstappen is viewed as a rogue on the track and is aggressive in his attempts to overtake people no matter the proximity of other cars. Stewards see these actions worthy of penalties, but fans of Verstappen think it makes races more exciting.

One of the more famous incidents of a fine happened during the US Grand Prix a few months ago. Verstappen was involved in a duel with Kimi Raikkonen to try and claim the last podium place, with the Dutchman eventually overtaking his rival to take third on the last lap. Celebrations followed, but they were quickly halted by FIA officials who gave Verstappen a 5-second penalty for allegedly overtaking Raikkonen with four wheels off the track.

Briatore thinks that decisions like this will only serve to give Verstappen more support from the public who enjoy his swashbuckling approach.

"The more he'll be penalised, the more the fans will love him. I find it incredible that he gets penalised at every race, or almost.

"F1 is way too controlled. They must give drivers the freedom to fight. It's a big difference with MotoGP. Those guys fight each other wheel to wheel at 300 km/h, and more and more fans are watching them."