Verstappen claims he gave Bottas "enough space"

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claims that he gave Mercedes man Valtteri Bottas "enough space" following his five-second penalty in Sunday's Monza race.

The incident involving the two drivers led to Verstappen's five-second penalty, which dropped him two places behind Bottas and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.

The pair were enduring an intense battle when Bottas tried getting round Verstappen but then clipped the Red Bull's rear wing.

The Finn said that Verstappen didn't give him enough room and the race stewards agreed with him and consequently gave him a penalty.

Verstappen refused to give his place to Bottas, which allowed Vettel to close in on the pair.

"I think I gave Valtteri enough space on the left so he didn't need to go off the track," Verstappen claimed to the media following the incident. "The rules say that as long as you give the other driver a car width (of) space, it should be enough.

"That's what I did, but he clipped my wheel at Turn 1 and had to go straight on. I don't agree with the penalty, but the decision is taken and we can't do anything about it."

FIA racing director Charlie Whiting has revealed that he needs to talk to Verstappen about his comments made during the race, following the Bottas incident.

"They are doing a good job of killing racing," the Dutchman raged on his team radio when he was informed about the penalty he received.