Verstappen: Vettel doesn't get same 'bullshit' as me

Max Verstappen says he did not deserve to have his driving style scrutinised so closely in the opening races of 2018, pointing out that Sebastian Vettel's recent run of poor form has not been met with a similar level of coverage that the Red Bull man describes as 'bullshit'.

Verstappen has rallied from an error-strewn start to the season in which he spilled points in Australia, Bahrain, China, Azerbaijan and Monaco with mistakes which often included colliding with rivals.

Vettel has seen his title hopes go up in smoke amid a similar run, Verstappen among the rivals he has collided with in recent races to wreck his Italian, Japanese and United States Grands Prix.

The German was among those to suggest that Verstappen ought to change his on-track habits as he struggled earlier in the year, but the Dutchman says it was out of the question.

"You see even a four-time world champion can make mistakes like that. People saying I had to change my driving style, to me that was all big bullshit, to be honest," he told ESPN.

"They don't tell Sebastian to really change his driving style, I've never seen the headlines like that. At the end of the day driving on the limit, sometimes over it to achieve the best out of it, especially at such high speeds... mistakes are easily done.

"Maybe the people who watch it know better. Sometimes I watch a football match and I think I know better but at the end of the day, we don't.

"So I think people need to appreciate more what we are trying to achieve in the car.

"It's like telling a football player who is always kicking with the left foot, suddenly telling them 'no, you have to kick them with the right'. It's the same.

"Some people can do both, left or right, but most of them are left-footed or right-footed and you can't just make that switch overnight. I'm not going to tell [Robin] Van Persie how to play football and people shouldn't tell me how to drive."

MORE: Can Sebastian Vettel still win the F1 world championship?
MORE: Verstappen says Ricciardo's Renault move subject of 'jokes'