Jos Verstappen hits back at British media: 'Will shut their big mouths'

"They will keep their big mouths shut for now," Jos Verstappen is referring to British analysts and journalists. After the Mexican GP, the reigning world champion faced criticism. He was accused of driving far too aggressively. "Max has shown that he is the very best. Those people who then call for him to change his driving style? His driving style is perfect! Even such a first lap in the rain, where he gained six places. He's just always perfect in these conditions."

Ahead of the weekend, the Dutchman already hinted that he was definitely not going to change his driving style, even though fellow drivers - including World Championship rival Lando Norris - had called on him to fight in a different, fair way. Verstappen's telling response to that was: "I am a three-time world champion, I know what I am doing."

Helmut Marko endorsed those words after the Brazilian Grand Prix. "All the nonsense that has been spread and then this. Max was flying. He was faultless and we couldn't say that about Lando Norris (his rival, ed.)," said the team advisor, who is ready to call Verstappen a four-time World Champion. "Whether this is a giant step towards the title? No, I think this is the title. Here you could see who the real champion is."

Betting with Lambiase

The 81-year-old Austrian is known to sometimes bet on his drivers' races, mainly on performances by Verstappen. Even at the Interlagos circuit, Marko dared. "With Max's race engineer, I had bet that Max would get on the podium. GP didn't think so. We had put $100 on it. But I said only a podium and no victory. Max always wants to do better again."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton