Verstappen given ´gentle warning´ over driving style

Red Bull team manager Christian Horner has confirmed teenage driver Max Verstappen was given a “gentle warning” over his driving style on Friday.

The 18-year-old, who is the only driver apart from Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to win a race in 2016, has been criticised for being too aggressive.

FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting spoke with Verstappen ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza to warn him, Horner revealed.

“Charlie was keen to show him a video of Spa,” Horner told Sky Sports. “It was a gentle warning.

“Like any 18-year-old the criticism [from other drivers] seems to be going in one ear and out the other. He really doesn’t care.

“We’re all here talking about it and it’s that spirit he’s got that is bringing fans trackside.”

Verstappen, who won the Spanish Grand Prix in May, has claimed three podium finishes in the last five races and is currently sixth in the drivers’ world championship.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were particularly upset with Verstappen’s Spa tactics, particularly a move to block Raikkonen’s overtaking attempt on the Kemmel Straight, with the Finnish racer saying Verstappen will cause a “huge accident” unless he amends his ways.