Jos Verstappen is certain: 'Max will not change!'
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Max Verstappen was heavily criticised following the Mexican Grand Prix, as many believe his maneouvres against Lando Norris were not "fair" and it should not be the way drivers battle in the competition. Championship rival Lando Norris also voiced his concern, and the Dutchman did receive two ten-second penalties by the stewards. According to Jos Verstappen however, his son will not change his approach.
"Norris may now be thinking even more: 'I have to be careful'. If you look at Sunday's actions, Max's second moment may have been a bit too much. But he is letting this wash over him. You can talk about it for a very long time, but it doesn't make any difference anyway. Max has to drive the way he wants," Jos Verstappen told De Telegraaf following the Mexican GP.
Verstappen Sr then underlined why his son has to be so aggressive on track. That is because the RB20 is currently behind the Dutchman's rivals' cars in the competition. "He has to do this because the car is not good enough and he is doing everything he can to win the title. But Max is not going to change his driving style because there were a few stewards present now who are not comfortable with him anyway," the former F1 driver continued.
'Another issue' with the stewards
While there was much debate about the stewards' consistency and having different crews at different events even before the weekend in Mexico, Jos Verstappen believes there is another issue the FIA have to deal with. Namely, 'conflict of interest'.
"The FIA should take a good look at the staffing of the stewards, who they put there and whether there is any semblance of a conflict of interest. From former drivers, for example, who have more sympathy for certain drivers or riders," Jos Verstappen concluded to the Dutch news outlet.
This article was written in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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