Verstappen: Maybe Vettel should be told to change his style

Max Verstappen told the press after the French Grand Prix that Sebastian Vettel 'should maybe change his style' following his collision with Valtteri Bottas on the first lap which punctured the Finns' tyre and put both men to the back of the grid.

Vettel has admitted fault in the incident where he ploughed into the side of the Bottas, damaging his car's nose and meant both men had to traverse through the entire grid from the back. Vettel could only finish in fifth, relinquishing his championship lead to Lewis Hamilton in the process.

Verstappen took the opportunity to criticise the treatment he had received versus what Vettel is likely to receive in the aftermath of this incident, and he said to the journalists in the press conference:

"Next time you see Seb, you should ask him to change his style. Because this is not acceptable. That's what they said to me in the beginning in the season. And of course Seb shouldn't do anything and just learn from this. That's my advice to everyone in this room."

The Dutchman then clarified his quotes to Sky Sports, saying that he was not referring to Vettel personally nor any other driver on the grid, but instead the comments to him from the media after his testing start to the season, in which he was involved with incidents that saw him in trouble in particularly in Baku and Monaco.

He said: "At the end of the day we are all human. I hope the journalists won't ask him [Vettel] if he will change his approach. It really annoyed me, and it's really stupid to ask. A four-time world champion can still make mistakes.

"You have to learn from mistakes but you can't change your style. All of the stupid comments on social media and I'm not going to hold back on it."

Verstappen then looked forward to Austria, and he doesn't believe that Red Bull will be at their best at that circuit, but has his focus on some tracks to come later in the year.

He added: "At the beginning of the season I lost a lot of points but I think we have a few good tracks coming later in the season. Austria is not the best for us because the straights are too long, but with a bit of luck, we can definitely challenge. I'm looking at Singapore and Mexico in particular."