Verstappen takes aim at F1 rival in radio message

Max Verstappen didn't hold back on one of his F1 rivals at the Italian Grand Prix, with a scathing comment caught on team radio.

Verstappen and Esteban Ocon were going back and forth after fighting for track space for a hot lap in FP3, with the four-time champion passing the Haas driver down the home straight.

Ocon was not having any of Verstappen's antics, however, overtaking the Dutchman once more at the turn one chicane, causing them both to have to back off from their hot laps.

That led to Verstappen taking aim at Ocon (verbally, not with his car on this occasion), saying over team radio: "He's such a ****."

The incident didn't cause any problems for either driver, other than the annoyance at having to back out of the lap having not had the best of starts to the flying lap.

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Verstappen bouncing back

The pressure is on Verstappen this weekend, with the four-time champion's grip on his title slipping away, but early signs are that he's up to the challenge after setting the fastest lap in F1 history to take pole later in the day.

Verstappen has held the drivers' championship since 2021, but is currently 104 points behind 2025 championship leader Oscar Piastri, with just nine races remaining.

The Dutchman would need to be almost faultless between now and the end of the season to have any chance of retaining his crown, and would be hoping for some more McLaren reliability issues as happened to Lando Norris last weekend in Zandvoort.

Verstappen's first challenge before all that will be to try and get back to race-winning ways, having only claimed two race victories all season, and not one since May.

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