Verstappen laughs off statements made by Maldonado

During the Austrian Grand Prix, a rather tense battle took place between Max Verstappen and Pastor Maldonado towards the end of the race. The latter almost lost control of his Lotus while trying to overtake the Toro Rosso driver, who shifted at the last moment to defend his position.

After the race, the Venezuelan didn’t fail to comment on an incident that could have cost him dearly: « You have to leave enough space for the other car, and he didn’t respect that. When I saw what he was doing, I thought I needed to be more careful but also more aggressive. It was sometimes borderline, but it’s okay. If the stewards didn’t say anything, then alright. They allow us to fight and that’s great. »

Remarks that did not fail to amuse Max Verstappen, who believes he has no lessons to learn from a driver often involved in off-track incidents or collisions: “It’s rather amusing that Pastor says that. I don’t take it too seriously. I’m having fun, I was trying to defend my position and Pastor was doing exactly the same.”

Just after the race on Sunday, the Dutchman was already downplaying the situation: « I had fun. I didn’t see what happened in the end, I was focused on controlling my car. With the pace he had, I thought he was going to overtake me in two laps, but I kept him behind me a few more laps and it was really nice. »

After his accident with Romain Grosjean at Sainte-Dévote in Monaco, Max Verstappen also refused to accept any responsibility, preferring to blame the Lotus driver.