FORMULA 1

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Vietnam aiming for 2020 Grand Prix in Hanoi

Vietnam is intending to join the Formula 1 calendar for the 2020 season, with a street-based course in the city of Hanoi.

Formula 1’s owners Liberty Media have been seeking to expand the roster, with Vietnam among several potential destinations.

Plans for a Grand Prix in Miami for next year were ultimately postponed, with progress having currently stalled, while Copenhagen has also formed tentative proposals.

FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting confirmed that wheels are in motion for Vietnam to join the series at the start of the next decade.

“There's no actual progress on building the track but the site's been identified, it's in the advanced stages of design,” said Whiting.

“As far as I'm aware, they're aiming for a 2020 Grand Prix, which shouldn't be a problem based on previous experience.”

Whiting confirmed that the circuit would be constructed to the west of Hanoi, around 12 kilometres from the centre of the city.

“It's mainly on the streets and there's a section which is not yet built,” he said.

“So, it's an open site where the pit building's going to be built. Part of the track will be built there which doesn't exist at the moment.

“But it will become a road, I understand, after that.”

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Fernando Alonso: Time penalty 'shows how bad F1 is'

Fernando Alonso says the time penalty he received at the Japanese Grand Prix “shows how bad F1 is”, following contact with Lance Stroll.

Stroll moved across on Alonso as the pair battled for position into the Casio Triangle towards the end of the opening lap, and Alonso was forced onto the grass.

Alonso cut across the chicane, and went through the gravel, in order to re-join the track, and stewards deemed that he had gained an advantage in doing so.

It was recognised that “although Car 14 was forced off the track, Car 14 thereafter cut the chicane and re-joined the track, thereby gaining a significant advantage.”

Stroll was penalised for causing the contact but Alonso lashed out at his own five-second time penalty.

“Even when the driver comes to apologise, I think it’s difficult to understand the decision,” he said. “This is how bad Formula 1 is.

“In the decisions, in the random, in the poor consistency.

“You are braking on the outside at the last corner and you go on the gravel, you come here to apologise and you get a penalty. It’s a shame.”

For his part, Stroll added: “It was one of those first lap racing incidents.

“I went around the outside at 130R and got on the grass and then I came back onto the racing line and we made some contact.

“I just wanted to say I didn’t touch him intentionally and then he just went straight on. I think it was just a typical first lap incident where things get heated.

“Just a shame we both get penalties and my race went downhill from there.”

Alonso finished in 14th while Stroll was the final classified runner in 17th.

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Fire cost Grosjean telemetry in Japanese GP

Romain Grosjean completed the Japanese Grand Prix without telemetry information following an early fire on his Haas Formula 1 car.
Grosjean still managed to finish eighth at Suzuka, despite also suffering a handling problem that team principal Gunther Steiner said was related to part of the rear suspension "moving".

Steiner explained that Haas could not help Grosjean identify the problem when it struck because of the lack of data from the car.

"We don't know why it broke because in the beginning we had no telemetry," he explained.

"No tyre temperatures, nothing, because we had a fire because I think some oil came out and burnt all the wiring down.

"So we had no data on temperature, tyre pressure, a lot of others just missing.

"So when he said 'on the straights the car is pulling, I don't know which side', we thought he had maybe picked up a puncture from the debris from [Kevin] Magnussen but he didn't so we continued.

"The whole race was not easy. It looked a lot easier than it actually was.

"We never knew how warm the tyres were and we all know how important that is to know. So we were struggling."

Grosjean lost seventh place to Sergio Perez following the late virtual safety car period, and complained on the radio that he could not understand how the Force India had gained on him during or immediately after the VSC.

But Steiner does not believe anything untoward happened.

"There was nothing wrong with what Perez did, he was just on the case and sometimes in virtual safety cars you can be in a better or worse position by the regulations because you have these mini sectors," he said.

"He was good there, his tyres were too, he just had better traction there and out of the chicane just overtook him."

The second Haas of Kevin Magnussen retired due to damage from his early clash with Charles Leclerc's Sauber.

But Grosjean's eighth place meant Haas still got the gap to Renault in the battle for fourth in the constructors' championship back down to eight points.

"We are pretty happy to get away with points from here after seeing the issues we had," Steiner added.

"If your car is on fire on lap one, that normally is not good."

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Hamilton didn't expect Vettel to "tail off" like this

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he never expected Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari to “tail off” in the Formula 1 title battle the way they have.
Hamilton claimed his fourth victory in a row at the Japanese Grand Prix to put him on the brink of the 2018 crown after Vettel spun early on trying to pass Max Verstappen and finished sixth.

Vettel led the title race by eight points back in July but Hamilton has won six of the seven races since then and turned that deficit into a 67-point lead.

Asked by Motorsport.com if he was surprised how Vettel has faded from the picture, Hamilton said: "Up until the mid-part of the season they were very strong.

"Then they got to Monza and after that they were still quite strong at Monza and Singapore, then Singapore was really when things started to tail off.

"I definitely hadn't anticipated that they would tail off as they have. The performances have not been coming as strong as they were before.

"I don't really have an answer for that, it's not something I've really focused on – I'm sure Sebastian could tell why.

"We've just been focussing on trying to do the best job we can and maximise the potential of our own ability."

Ferrari appeared to have the edge on Mercedes for pace until Singapore, where Mercedes has traditionally been weak but Hamilton won from pole.

The Italian team has lost several points this season, with high-profile incidents like Vettel crashing from the lead in Germany and spinning after hitting Hamilton in Italy.

Hamilton made Vettel pay for that Monza mistake by going on to win, triggering his current four-race victory streak – which he said the team should be proud of after overturning Ferrari's advantage.

"You have to set your sights high," said Hamilton. "As we came into the season we set the goal high. We got to mid-season, we had that win going into the break.

"We've been pushing to make sure we come back even stronger. That's what you're hoping to achieve – it's not always the case that you do.

"We have, through great hard work from everyone."

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Post Race Interviews & Analysis Part 1 - 2018 Japanese GP

Post Race Interviews & Analysis Part 2 - 2018 Japanese GP

 

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F1 2018 Japanese GP Post Race Press Conference

 

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Gasly queries Toro Rosso strategy as Honda fail to take home points

It had all looked so good for Toro Rosso going into the Japanese Grand Prix. In front of the Honda bosses at the track the company built back in 1962, Brendon Hartley qualified a season-best sixth, one place ahead of his team mate Pierre Gasly, both drivers using Honda’s upgrade package to great effect around Suzuka.

So how, despite no major incidents for either driver, did they end the race P13 and P11 respectively, having looked set to have a big points-scoring day on Honda’s home turf? It was something Gasly was still chewing on when he faced the media after the Grand Prix.

“I don't really know why we went so long on the first stint,” he said, referring to Toro Rosso’s decision to keep him out on his supersoft tyres until lap 29. “We got undercut by four or five cars.”

Up to that point, Gasly had spent most of the race holding steady in P7 behind the Haas of Romain Grosjean – a finishing position that would have netted the Red Bull-bound Frenchman six very welcome points. But after rejoining the race in P13 and battling his way up to 10th with some well-executed manoeuvres, Gasly was pipped for the last points-scoring position by the Renault of Carlos Sainz with just two laps to go.

“Honestly, I don't want to speak about it,” an emotional Gasly said. “We were in P7 for half the race and then after the pit stop, I think we dropped to P12 or P13.

“We put the soft tyres on so I enjoyed a couple of overtakes, but after 10 or 15 laps the soft tyres had massive blisters and it was even difficult to see on the straight because the rear tyres were square.

“At the end I was just trying to survive the 20 last laps, but it was very difficult.

“It’s just a shame. After such a good qualifying yesterday, it would have been great to reward the team and Honda here in Japan for their home race with some points today.”

So, not the race that Toro Rosso wanted. But despite not managing to add to their tally in the constructors’ standings, the Italian squad will still be buoyed by their Saturday pace in Suzuka as the teams prepare themselves for the the final four rounds of the 2018 season.

[Lotusguy]

I think Vettel needs to see a psycologist who specializes with athletes.  To quote Tropic Thunder, he goes full retard during the race.  Can't really fault him for Ferrari's strategy during qualifying (him starting 8th is 100% on them).  It seems like on Sundays Vettel just doesn't have that edge, and hasn't since about the 8th race or so of the season.
Danny had an amazing race coming from the back to where he finished.  

Holy crap - I really can’t defend him... might have to find a new favorite driver. Just terrible.

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WOLFF: NO SILVER BULLET JUST A LOT OF HARD WORK

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff has attributed his team’s recent dominant form down to hard graft and team spirit within the organisation which is making space in their vast trophy room for another two Formula 1 world championship titles, their tenth in five years.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton led a Silver Arrows one-two, the fourth of the season so far, with Lewis Hamilton heading home Valtteri Bottas at Suzuka on Sunday.

Wolff said after the race, “It started off well, as a driver if you have that confidence and are able to push it hard and you feel the car responding, then you are able to achieve it.”

While Mercedes have made their occasional strategy gaffe, the few errors they have made have not been as glaring or destructive as their rivals Ferrari and their driver Sebastian Vettel who have literally imploded in the crucial latter half of the season.

Wolff explained, “We try to provide a safe place in our team. You are allowed to make mistakes and call them out and it means you’re not scared for your job and can feel comfortable.”

“In our Monday morning meeting we start with what mistakes we’ve made over the weekend to get them out, and it means that people like James (Vowles, Chief Strategist) can say what they need to, when they need to.”

“The step we’ve made since Spa is good. We enjoy doing what we do, we like the pressure and embrace it. There’s no better job than to race and have the lap times to improve it, we are a close knit of people.”

“I think it’s important to re-invent yourself as a team and set new objectives, we have ambitious targets, we haven’t won either of the championships yet but we’re still working towards it.”

As reported Mercedes dominated qualifying and the race in Japan, untouchable on a weekend when Ferrari needed to win to keep the title race alive.

Looking back on Suzuka, Wolff said, “That was a very tense Grand Prix for us. It might have looked pretty smooth from outside but within the team we were managing blisters in the tyres, some driveability issues with Lewis’ power unit and very competitive Red Bulls behind us.”

“So to take a 1-2 for the second race in a row is pretty special – not just for the trackside team here after a tough back-to-back, but for everybody back in Brackley and Brixworth who have poured their efforts into developing this car and power unit.”

“There hasn’t been a single silver bullet – just a lot of hard work, creativity and a mind set to channel the pressure of the competition and keep pushing hard to achieve our objectives.”

“The approach will remain the same in the coming races: we will not let up one single bit when it comes to bringing more performance to the car, and keep taking everything day by day. It has been an important week for the team and we have come out of the challenges we faced even stronger than before.”

“From here, every race is like a mini-championship and we need to keep aligning our race weekends in the same way we achieved in Sochi and Suzuka,” added Wolff.

With four rounds remaining the championships are all but decided, with Hamilton leading the drivers’ standings by 67 points and Mercedes topping the constructors’ standings by 78 points.

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HAMILTON IS STEPPING INTO SCHUMACHER TERRITORY

When Michael Schumacher won his seventh Formula 1  world championship with Ferrari in 2004 it looked like a record that would stand the test of time, but Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are forcing a rethink already.

The Briton stands on the brink of becoming only the third man to win at least five titles, with his team’s stranglehold on both championships tighter than ever after he won Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old has a contract until the end of 2020 and a teammate in Valtteri Bottas who has proved more beatable and acquiescent than predecessor and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.

A change of engine rules that might shake things up is not due until 2021, at the earliest.

“Let’s say you win this championship… Lewis wins another title, can he go to seven?” 1996 world champion Damon Hill asked Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Sky Sports television on Sunday, voicing the thoughts of many.

The Austrian’s reply, while emphasising that nothing was being taken for granted, was revealing.

“I think it’s important to reinvent yourself and set new objectives,” he said.

“And there is always the risk of complacency, that you are running out of targets… so we are setting ourselves ambitious targets.”

Hamilton’s record already bears comparison to Schumacher’s, and in some areas exceeds the great German’s achievements.

Sunday was Hamilton’s 71st win, 20 short of the former Ferrari great’s 91. He has won nine races so far this season and looks likely to end the year in double figures. His 2014-17 average was 10 wins a year — 11 in 2014, 10 in 2015 and 2016 and then nine last year.

Britain’s most successful driver has 131 podium places since his debut in 2007, compared to Schumacher’s 155.

Schumacher won 72 races with Ferrari between 1996 and 2006. Hamilton has won 50 with Mercedes in less than six seasons.

A more meaningful point of comparison, however, would be the years of dominance — 2000-04 for Ferrari and 2014-18 for Mercedes.

There, the win figures are 49 for Hamilton (so far) and 48 for Schumacher but the percentage rate remains in the German’s favour since there are now more races on the calendar.

On podiums, Hamilton is ahead 77-66.

Hamilton has also matched or beaten Schumacher at key stages of his career, the German taking his first title with Benetton aged 25 whereas the Briton opened his account at McLaren as a 23-year-old.

Schumacher, whose Jan. 3 birthday falls four days before Hamilton’s, was also 33 when he celebrated his fifth championship in 2002 — but he did it in France in July with six races to spare.

Hamilton, 67 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with four races to go, has his first chance to clinch title number five in Texas at the end of next week.

Nothing lasts forever but Mercedes will start 2019 more settled than those immediately below them in the pecking order, the only top team to field an unchanged lineup.

Error-prone Ferrari will be exchanging 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen for Monegasque youngster Charles Leclerc while Red Bull start a new partnership with Honda, whose engines have yet to match those of Mercedes or Ferrari.

Hamilton is in the form of his life, hungry for more and as motivated as ever. If Mercedes can keep providing him with a winning car, then comparisons with Schumacher will only become louder.

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BRAWN REPORT JAPAN: WHERE’S THE PROBLEM AT FERRARI?

Formula 1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn provides his insight in the aftermath of an incident-packed Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Round 17 of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship.

In a nutshell, on Sunday in Japan, Lewis Hamilton led home Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas for their fourth one-two finish of the season while title rival Sebastian Vettel tripped up once again, after colliding with Max Verstappen early in the race the Ferrari driver played catch up from the back of the field to claim sixth place.

After claiming his ninth win of the season, the 2018 championship is all but decided as with four rounds remaining Hamilton leads Vettel by 67 points in the drivers’ standings while Mercedes are 78 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ title race.”

Here is Brawn’s take on the race weekend at Suzuka:

“Back in the summer break, I doubt Lewis or his team believed they could do that so soon. Back-to-back wins in Germany and Hungary made up for the reigning champion’s disappointment at Silverstone, where it was clear that Sebastian Vettel had the most competitive technical package that Mercedes had ever come up against in this hybrid era.

“From Hockenheim to date, Lewis has picked up 168 points out of a possible maximum of 175, while his title rival has only managed 93. On some weekends, Hamilton was note perfect, while on others the team helped him out, as was the case in Sochi, or they simply benefited from the mistakes of others.

“That means that he has a 67-point lead and he only needs to score eight more points than Vettel at COTA to equal Juan Manuel Fangio’s tally of titles. Another one-two for Mercedes would mean party time in the Hamilton household.”

Where’s the problem at Ferrari?

“As was the case last year, in September and October, Ferrari seems to have gone off the rails. Up until Monza, the Scuderia had seemed capable of fighting for both titles all the way to the end, but the trips to Singapore, Russia and Japan put a stop to that, particularly in the Drivers’ classification. As an outsider it’s always difficult to give a correct assessment as to why this has happened.

“It’s obvious from even a brief analysis of the way the car behaves that Ferrari has a very strong technical package, thanks to the efforts of the past few years which has seen the team close a technical gap to Mercedes that had developed since the introduction of hybrid power units in 2014.

“Compared to last year, even Ferrari’s reliability has improved. So where’s the problem? There is no doubt the shock of the sudden death of its leader, Sergio Marchionne, who had been such a strong reference in the team, will have a major impact, and that is totally understandable.

“Having experienced many crises myself during my time with Ferrari, what I know is that this is the time to come together, stay united and look ahead, without resorting to recrimination and playing the blame game.

“Drivers, engineers and management all win and lose together, which is an unwritten rule in every sport, not just Formula 1. Everyone at Maranello knows that. Now is the time to try and turn things around and finish in style a season that has many positives.”

Verstappen is Ferrari’s worst nightmare

“Max Verstappen turned into Ferrari’s worst nightmare in Suzuka. He collided with Kimi Räikkönen at the end of the first lap, which earned him a hotly disputed five-second penalty, and the Finn not only lost fourth place to his team-mate Vettel, but more significantly the aerodynamics on his car were compromised, especially at the front.

“A few laps later and it was time for another incident, this time with Vettel, and the German lost out as he sustained damage in the coming together, spinning and dropping to P19. This time, the Stewards felt it was a racing incident.

“Regardless, Max demonstrated that, at this track, the Red Bull could fight Ferrari and the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas on equal terms. Indeed, the Dutchman chased Bottas for second place right up until the final lap, even if he never really had a genuine passing opportunity.”

Daniel put on a great show

“In the other Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo also put on a great show, with the Australian finishing just off the podium having started from 15th place on the grid. It was yet another great climb up the order, following both his and Verstappen’s in Sochi.

“Red Bull are no doubt lamenting the reliability problems they are having with Renault, as a relationship that brought so much success and glory to the Milton Keynes-based squad and to Renault’s Viry engine facility comes to an end.”

Force India can be hugely proud

“The fight for the ‘Best of the Rest’ title gets more closely contested with every passing race. Racing Point Force India were the deserved winners in Suzuka, with a repeat of their success at Spa and Monza.

“The personnel working at Silverstone can be hugely proud of what they’ve achieved this year, in really difficult circumstances. Total the points from the pre-Belgium team and the reborn squad and Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon have brought home over 100 points between them, which is impressive given the constraints the team was working under.

“They could do even better than their current seventh place, as sixth-placed McLaren are only 15 points ahead and over the past five races the Woking team have only picked up six points compared to 43 for Racing Point Force India.

“That alone is motivation for the drivers, especially Ocon, who is currently without a drive for 2019, while Pérez, the only driver from outside the top three teams to make it to the podium this year, must be looking to put on a good show for the fans in his home race at the end of this month.”

Incredible Japanese fans and organisation

“The enthusiasm of the Japanese fans is truly incredible. Once again this weekend, the sights and sounds in the grandstands and around the track were amazing. From Friday to Sunday, 165,000 people turned up, which is an increase of 18,000 over the previous year.

“That’s gratifying for the promoter who worked so hard to provide various forms of entertainment for the fans in this the 30th year that Formula 1 has raced at this track.”

Some very familiar historic F1 cars

“There was also a great display on track from a number of historic F1 cars and I was particularly pleased to see, admittedly only on video, the Ferrari 248F1, the last car from when I was in charge of the technical side in Maranello.

“Some of these cars were driven by their current owners, while others were reunited with those who raced them, such as Mika Häkkinen and Felipe Massa. Suzuka remains a really special round on the calendar, both as one of the greatest and demanding tracks we race at and because of the passion and creativity of the Japanese fans, famous for their amazing displays.

“It’s therefore very pleasing that a new three-year agreement with the local promoter will see this race remain an important addition on the Formula 1 calendar.”

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VASSEUR: MAGNUSSEN MOVE WAS F#CKING DANGEROUS

It was a jaw-dropping moment, during the Japanese Grand Prix, when Charles Leclerc’s Sauber sped in the slipstream of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, as they roared nose-to-tail in front of the pits.

Down the Suzuka start/finish straight, the white car went right for the overtake but the silver car also jinked right at the last moment and only a dollop of huge luck prevented a massive shunt.

Nevertheless, even with Leclerc stomping on the brakes the Sauber tagged the back of the Haas, drawing a puncture which basically ended Magnussen’s race.

Leclerc, clearly fuming after the close call, was immediately on the radio: “Magnussen is stupid and will always be stupid that’s a fact.”

After the race, Sauber team chief Frederic Vasseur admitted he was surprised that there was no action from the FIA stewards regarding the incident, “From my point of view it was quite obvious, but there was no further action. I was a bit surprised.”

Magnussen has often been in the wars with fellow drivers, many of his peers regard him as the ‘dirtiest’ driver on the grid, many have had run-ins with him on track.

Vasseur said of Magnussen, “He’s involved in all the big crashes throughout the season if you have a look. I’m not the referee, it’s the FIA. They have to take decisions or not.”

“The move was f#cking dangerous, he’s moving always late, and one day we’ll have a huge crash. When you are at 320km/h, it’s more than dangerous,” added Vasseur.

Haas team chief Guenther Steiner defended his driver and claimed that Leclerc was to blame and suggested the Ferrari-bound youngster improve his spatial awareness.

Race director Charlie Whiting explained why no action was taken by race stewards, “I think it is impossible to say Kevin blocked him. It was just that he had made the decision, he was going to go right, fractionally after Charles had.

“You have to look at it quite a few times and analyse it in a little detail to see that. But I think it was just unfortunate, and I think that is what the stewards felt,” added Whiting.

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WHITING: ALONSO GAINED AN ADVANTAGE BY LEAVING THE TRACK

According to Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting, Fernando Alonso would have saved himself a five seconds penalty during the Japanese Grand Prix had he handed back the position he gained by cutting the final chicane early on during the race.

Alonso was not happy afterwards, protesting the penalty that he and Lance Stroll received for their shenanigans, the Williams driver for forcing “car #14 off the track” through the flat-out 130R and the McLaren veteran for leaving “the track at Turn 16 and gained an advantage.”

After the race, the McLaren driver told reporters, “It just shows how bad Formula 1 is. You are braking on the outside of the last corner, one guy doesn’t see you, he comes to apologise, you go in the gravel and you get a penalty. So, it’s a shame.”

“He didn’t see me. If he saw me and said: I’m going to put you in the grass’ it’s another thing but the stewards are an unfortunate situation in a race situation. It doesn’t change much because instead of 14th maybe you finish 12th but you know, it’s the way it is,” added the Spaniard who will quit F1 at the end of the season.

Stroll was also bemused by the penalties, “Just racing. Around 130R, coming back, first lap stuff – made a bit of contact and that was that. He went straight, I defended – typical stuff on the first lap.”

With regards to the apology he made to Alonso, the young Canadian explained, “I just wanted to say no hard feelings about the first lap. Things got heated and we both got penalties.”

Whiting told media after the race at Suzuka, “The stewards felt that it was perfectly clear what Fernando did. He cut the chicane, drove quickly across the gravel, came on way in front.’

“I think that was pretty clear that he had gained an advantage by leaving the track. The stewards, however, felt that Stroll had actually forced Fernando off, so you could say that because Fernando was forced off he was entitled to cut the chicane – he wasn’t.”

“He shouldn’t have taken a place by doing it but equally Stroll shouldn’t have pushed him off the track. So they felt that each driver should get a five-second penalty for two separate offences. If he’d given back the position I don’t think Fernando would have been penalised. That would have been straightforward.”

“I think the second time he did it he did give the place back, to Brendon Hartley, but he didn’t on [the first] occasion,” explained Whiting.

Alonso finished 14th in his final Japanese Grand Prix, while Stroll was 17th and last of the cars running at the end of the race.

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WHITING: MAX WENT OFF THE TRACK AND REJOINED UNSAFELY

In the wake of an incident-packed Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had a poke at the powers that be by ridiculing the five-second penalty he received for his feisty defence of third place from Kimi Raikkonen early on in the race at Suzuka.

The incident between the Red Bull driver and his Ferrari rival is well documented, with the FIA race stewards ruling swiftly: “Car 33 left the track at turn 16 and re-joined unsafely.”

But after the race, Verstappen made no bones about his feelings, “I don’t know why I got a penalty. It is a bit stupid.”

FIA race stewards investigated the incident during the early stages of the race and quickly ruled that “car 33 left the track at turn 16 and re-joined unsafely” while handing out a five seconds penalty for the transgression which the Red Bull driver served during his pitstop.

Speaking to media after the race in Japan, F1 race director Charlie Whiting backed his stewards, “It was quite clearly a penalty because Max went off the track and rejoined the track unsafely.”

“You are required to rejoin safely and Kimi was there and he pushed him off the track. So I think that was a fairly straightforward one for the stewards.”

Shortly after the Raikkonen clash, Verstappen was clattered into by Sebastian Vettel when the Ferrari driver attacked for third place and came off second best, while Verstappen continued unaffected to finish the race in third.

With regards to the Vettel incident, Whiting said, “Seb tried to get up the inside, and it was a reasonable move. He got halfway alongside and Max turned in… a bit of a classic really.

“Stewards don’t normally give penalties unless they are sure that one driver was wholly or predominantly to blame. Opinions will vary on whether there was equal blame but certainly, no driver was predominantly to blame they felt.”

During his chat with reporters after the race, Verstappen argued, “I’m not the one who makes the rules otherwise a lot of penalties would have been avoided in F1, but I think it is a similar scenario to what I had in China with [Vettel].

“Of course we didn’t spin off the track, but he drove into the side of my car,” added the Dutchman who was penalised that day in Shanghai.

But Whiting insisted there were no similarities between the incidents, “In China [Verstappen] came charging down the inside into the hairpin, and almost T-boned Seb, I don’t think there was any similarity between the two.”

“My recollection from that incident as it was a very clear case of causing a collision, and I think what Sebastian was doing was a genuine attempt to overtake. What Max was doing in China was opportunistic at best,” added Whiting.

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Stoffel Vandoorne 'a passenger' in Japan due to McLaren speed deficit

Stoffel Vandoorne says that he was a “passenger” on the straights at Suzuka due to McLaren’s lack of straight-line speed.

Vandoorne has had a wretched second season in Formula 1 having failed to escape Q1 since Canada, with his points drought now up to 13 Grands Prix.

It is the longest point-less run by a McLaren driver since Patrick Tambay in 1979.

Vandoorne lined up from 19th on the grid and raced to 15th position, overhauling both Williams drivers across the course of the 53-lap Grand Prix.

“It wasn’t a great race for us,” said Vandoorne, who will lose his Formula 1 drive at the end of the season.

“It was pretty difficult at the beginning, and there wasn’t really any possibility to resist the quicker cars. We were more or less passengers on the straights.

“At least the race turned out a little bit better towards the end, and we managed to beat a few cars on pace.

“With the tyre degradation, we were able to make them last and make a one-stop work, catch up with some cars and hold some other cars behind us.

“I think that was more or less the maximum possible.”

Vandoorne finished within a second of McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The team has scored just 18 points since the opening quartet of events, and holds a 15-point advantage over the re-born Force India squad in the scrap for sixth in the standings.

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Sky New Zealand set to lose F1 broadcasting rights beyond 2018

Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand looks set to lose rights to the Formula 1 World Championship according to the New Zealand Herald.

The newspaper had mentioned Sky did enter a bid for the rights from the 2019 season, but this was ultimately rejected as the bid was not competitive enough to be able to retain their right to broadcast F1 in the area.

Sky will show the remainder of the 2018 F1 season, however, it is understood to have been concerned over a fall in ratings owing to later start times introduced for European races and the availability of official highlights via social media platform Facebook.

A lot of F1 fans have instead been using the Facebook highlights package which has been freely made available from Mondays just hours after the race has occurred.

A recent move by commercial rights holder Liberty Media is thought to have played a large role in the decision, European rounds of the championship have now shifted an hour later to a start time of 1am on Monday mornings in New Zealand with races on the American continent happening at 7am leaving many unable to watch the events of races.

It has yet to be confirmed whether the F1TV packages available directly from F1 launched earlier in 2018 - will be made available to the region for the 2019 season and beyond, or if a new broadcaster is willing to make a bid for the rights to show F1.

F1TV has different options available for fans can choose what type of access they wish to purchase which include live coverage (dependant on the country's broadcast right status), highlights, classic races among other content.

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Sergio Perez praises Force India after grabbing the ‘maximum’ from Japanese GP

Sergio Perez has praised his Force India team after securing what he described as a "maximum" result at the Japanese Grand Prix finishing in seventh place.

The Mexican had made it into the final part of qualifying in tricky conditions and after the Suzuka circuit was hit by a localised rain shower during the final session, he had to settle for 10th in the session which became ninth on the grid after team-mate Esteban Ocon's penalty for his FP3 infraction.

Throughout the race, he was able to make up places and felt he could have had undercut Haas' Romain Grosjean if he was not held up by the Sauber of Charles Leclerc in the pit stop window.

When the Virtual Safety Car had been recalled after marshals had to recover Leclerc's stricken Sauber at Turn 9, Perez admits when he saw the opportunity to close to Grosjean, he went for the move without hesitation.

"Today we had a good result - the best I could realistically hope to achieve," said Perez. "After yesterday’s poor qualifying we made up a lot of positions and I feel we really got the maximum from the race.

"Our pace was strong and the team delivered a great strategy. We knew we had to be aggressive to beat the Haas and we nearly managed to undercut Grosjean at the pit-stop, but I lost a bit of time battling with Leclerc and I just fell short.

"At the VSC restart I managed to get really close to Grosjean and when I saw an opportunity I went for it. I am so excited about our performance today.

"We had to push hard and make some good overtakes: it was a fantastic race."

Ocon also praised the team for their efforts in giving him a fast car all weekend long, enabling him to passes on his opponents and have fun throughout the race.

The Mercedes-backed driver believes the race strategy paid off for them and left him in a position to pass the Grosjean in the final laps of the race, but felt he wasn't a chance to get the pass done.

"The team scored some good points today, but I’m not totally happy because our final result was dictated by the penalty yesterday," added the Frenchman.

"We have shown great speed all weekend – as the fourth quickest team – but if we don’t start higher up it’s difficult to show it in the race. There were some fun moments today and I had to make a lot of overtaking moves.

"When you had fresh tyres there was a big pace advantage and our strategy paid off in the end. I was close to catching Grosjean during the final few laps, but there wasn’t a chance to make a move."

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Sebastian Vettel: Ferrari has made life 'too easy' for Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel has accepted that Ferrari has made life “a bit too easy” for Mercedes in recent events, but backed his team and its “incredible spirit”.

Vettel led the 2018 Formula 1 standings after the British Grand Prix, which marked his fourth win of the year, but his and Ferrari’s season has crumbled in the events since.

Vettel has won only once, in Belgium, compared to the six wins amassed by Lewis Hamilton, whose points advantage has grown from 14 to 67 in the course of just four events.

Vettel has only finished on the podium three times during that seven-race spell, having been involved in a series of incidents and setbacks.

“Obviously there is still a chance,” said Vettel of his title ambitions.

“At the last couple of races we made it a bit too easy for them but also credit to them as they executed well, which is the name of the game.

“But we need to look after ourselves and do our bit the next couple of races and then we see. But it doesn’t help when we finish sixth and they win the race.

“I think we have great potential in this team, the last weeks have been tough for us … we could be in a better place, but we are not. That’s for a reason.

“But we look forward, and even if the last weeks have been difficult, the spirit inside the team if you look at the guys and so on is incredible.

“It’s incredible how powerful they are, how strong they are and how positive they are throughout.

“I think that made this team very strong and will make this team very strong at the next race and in the future.

“We know that we still have a lot of potential to unleash but we still need to work and dig a little deeper and so on. But for now we want to prove that the last few races are not what we can deliver.”

Vettel will be mathematically out of the championship battle if Hamilton out-scores him by eight points at next weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

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Daniel Ricciardo surprised yet pleased by recovery to fourth in Japanese GP

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was left surprised yet pleased by his recovery to fourth place in the Japanese Grand Prix after qualifying woes on Saturday left him starting from 15th on the grid.

Starting on the yellow-marked soft tyre gave the Australian a better strategic option to go deeper into the race and make as much progress as possible without fear of degrading the much in the opening stint of the race.

His progress through the field was helped by Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen getting into their own squabble on the main straight after they clattered into each other, the superior speed of the RB14 also aided his ability to quickly displace the midfield runners and chase down the leading pack.

The Renault-bound Ricciardo admits he was hoping for an opportunity to open up in front of him in order to claim the final podium place, but while it did not materialise, he described his efforts as a like a "small victory", especially after Dr Helmut Marko even thought fourth-place may have been out of reach.

His mood was also uplifted further as he took solace after both Red Bulls were able to show they had an answer for the pace of Ferrari in race conditions.

“Surprisingly, I was able to come through the field and overtake quite easily," said Ricciardo. "That’s not because I thought I couldn’t personally overtake, it’s just not that easy on this track, but I was able to make good use of the downforce we had on the soft tyre.

"I knew we would be quite vulnerable on the straights as we ran very high downforce this weekend, but I could stay close enough in the corners that I could latch onto the tow of the cars ahead on the straights. It was a good set-up and the first part of the race was a lot of fun.

"We went on to the mediums to try and cover Kimi and fourth place was kind of written after that. I would have loved a podium and I was kind of hoping for something to happen up front, but I feel I earned at least a fourth.

"It was good to come through the field and on the grid, Helmut actually said that he thought fourth place was a little optimistic and possibly out of reach today. So, fourth is like a little victory from the back on this track and it was good to see our strong pace against Ferrari.

"A podium would have been even sweeter but I can’t complain with the result and I’m pleased for the team."

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Horner: Vettel move on Verstappen "optimistic"

Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner believes Sebastian Vettel's move on Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix was "optimistic".
Verstappen and Vettel made contact in a battle for third place as they entered Spoon with Vettel spinning off and falling to the rear of the field, and the FIA stewards opted to take no action regarding the incident.

The Ferrari driver criticised Verstappen following the race with the Red Bull driver hitting back by stating Vettel had "driven into the side of my car".

Vettel says he will discuss the incident in private with Verstappen, rather than escalate a war of words.

Horner said the stewards decision was the correct call.

“It’s very hard to overtake into that corner,” he said. “It’s not a big braking zone, and obviously Sebastian was optimistic in his move and Max was robust in his defence.

"For me it was a racing incident, and I think the stewards came to the right decision.

“It was very opportunistic by Seb at a corner that it’s very hard to overtake at.”

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko told Motorsport.com that Vettel's move was “over-motivated" and a "racing incident".

The clash with Vettel was Verstappen's second incident with a Ferrari driver.

Verstappen earned a five-second penalty for rejoining the track in a dangerous manner and making contact with Kimi Raikkonen as the pair battled into the chicane.

Horner defended his driver's move.

“He’s a hard racer,” said Horner. “The incident at the chicane with Kimi, he’s run deep into the chicane, he’s gone off track, he’s rejoined.

"You can see he’s not looking in his mirrors, and not really aware of where Kimi is. They’ve made contact, it’s gone to the stewards.

"They’ve come up with a penalty, which we accept, and then obviously he’s had to pull out the gap to get the pitstop window to clear the penalty.

“At the end of the day we have to accept the stewards decision.

"We felt it was a racing incident. he’s not aware of where Kimi is at the point he rejoined. It was unfortunate.”

Marko revealed that Verstappen's strong pace, briefly closing on Bottas for second in the later stages of the race, came despite bodywork damage following his clash with Raikkonen.

“He got some damage on his floor, after the incident with Raikkonen he lost more than 20 points of downforce," he said.

"And he had a little bit of a problem with the [engine] mapping again.

“Mercedes has so much in reserve. But it was a good recovery to get back the five seconds [from the penalty]."

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Honda not allowed to use update tweak in Japanese GP

Honda had to abort a planned change to help its upgraded Formula 1 engine after being "surprised” by an FIA instruction before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Japanese manufacturer wanted to make a change on Pierre Gasly's car after qualifying, during parc ferme conditions, to address the oscillations that are still occurring when shifting up through the gears with its updated engine.

Ahead of the grand prix, the FIA confirmed that Honda had changed the post shift ignition retard settings on the Toro Rosso.

Its written request to do so was approved by the FIA's technical delegate, Jo Bauer.

Honda contests that it was then informed on the grid that it needed to change back, but does not know why.

It is understood that Honda is considered to have not made the change specifically as it was requested, so was told to revert to the previous settings.

Official comment from the FIA is expected shortly but was not available at the time of writing.

Gasly had to alter the timing of his upshifts during the grand prix, in which he finished outside of the points in 11th after starting seventh.

Honda says the change did not limit the engine’s performance in the race but wants more information on why the FIA changed its original decision.

“We submitted the parc ferme change request to the FIA,” Honda F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe.

“They approved it, that’s why they issued the document.

“I need to find out exactly why they changed their decision; that was done by someone.

“We were surprised, because they said yes. Suddenly, on the grid, they said no.

“We need to respect the FIA’s decision, so we didn’t use it.”

Tanabe said it was “hard to tell if they are big or small” changes but the fact the FIA initially said yes showed Honda was not trying to introduce a major performance differentiator.

The Toro Rosso drivers still reported better driveability, after the upgrade was introduced in practice last week in Russia but benched for the race weekend so Honda could work on some improvements.

Honda’s upgrade played a key role in Brendon Hartley and Gasly qualifying sixth and seventh for its home race, even though it failed to score points due to a poor start and tyre problems respectively.

“From the performance point of view, we are happy,” said Tanabe.

“The post-shift oscillations, maybe some torque delivery at low-RPM, we will assess the data from here and can improve for the next race.”

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‘A scary moment!’ – Ericsson relieved Leclerc clash wasn't more serious

Only Daniel Ricciardo gained more positions than Marcus Ericsson at Suzuka, but the Swede nearly had two big apologies to make to his Sauber squad after nearly committing the biggest of all F1 sins: taking out his team mate.

A crash during Q1 saw Ericsson start from the back of the grid, while Charles Leclerc lined up ten places further forward. But after just a handful of laps they were running nose-to-tail on track - quite literally.

Running line astern for the Safety Car restart at the end of Lap 7 - with both drivers having pitted - Ericsson was caught out by a slowing pack and ran right into the rear of Leclerc's identical C37 at the chicane, briefly lifting his team mate’s car in the air. Fortunately for the Swede, both drivers were able to continue, sparing his blushes somewhat.

“Bit of a scary moment!” Ericsson said of the contact. “A bit weird that everyone just stopped there, so it was like we’re almost standing still. I couldn’t stop the car with cold tyres. Luckily I tapped him and then we picked up a little bit of damage but was not too bad, not ideal!

“I spoke to Charles afterwards and he said he almost did the same to the car ahead of him and he was caught out ahead of him with everyone stopping.”

Such a worrying moment was the only negative on Sunday for Ericsson, who believes he recovered as well as possible from last on the grid after going off in qualifying, but admits his error on Saturday proved crucial to his hopes of scoring points.

“It’s definitely frustrating because I think we should have qualified around P10, like Charles did, because for sure the pace is there. It’s very frustrating what happened in qualifying. I think if I would have started a bit higher for sure the points were there. Frustrating, but I want to bring the positives as well and I’ll bring that within me.

“It was good afternoon I think. From starting 20th on a track like this, you know it’s going to be a difficult afternoon. The pace was very strong, we knew it would be strong on Friday where I think we were best of the rest on the long runs, but I was surprised how easily I could overtake the Williams and the McLarens early in the race.

“We took a gamble under the Safety Car and took on mediums, I knew the aim was going to be going to the end and it would be critical, but it’s one of my strengths, the tyre management, and I think I played that really well, I took care of them in a really good way.

“I’m pretty pleased with that performance and if a few more cars, the top cars, had problems then we would have been in the points. It was pretty good result I think.”

Sauber have been in a position to fight for points in a number of races this season and Ericsson acknowledges his own form needs to improve, having failed to score since finishing 10th in Belgium back in August.

“We need to be back in the points. We had two really strong performances in Russia and here but I didn’t score points in either of them. But we had the pace to really be there fighting. If I can have a clean qualifying I’m sure we can fight and score points in Austin.”

Ericsson currently lies 18th in the drivers’ standings, having taken just six points this season, 15 less than 15th-placed team mate Leclerc. He has just four races left before taking on third driver duties and an ambassadorial role with the Swiss team.

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ARIVABENNE VS BINOTTO: POWER STRUGGLE AT FERRARI

Amid one of most disastrous second half campaigns, turmoil is mounting within Ferrari with team chief Maurizio Arrivabene reportedly squaring up to technical director Mattia Binotto in what is a power struggling bubbling behind the scenes with origins.

What transpired on a morbid weekend at Suzuka for the Scuderia is well documented, with four rounds remaining their title challenging campaign is all but over for them. Barring a miracle they will be runner-up in both contests, with Sebastian Vettel set to lose to Lewis Hamilton, and Mercedes likely to beat Ferrari to the constructors’ title.

As a result, after months of remarkable restraint, Italian media have gone on the attack as again they were forced to report mistakes made by the Scuderia and their driver Vettel, while some journos have dug deeper and revealed that not all is well at Maranello, a civil war looms yet again.

The truth is, the late Sergio Marchionne’s big shoes have not been filled, he was the bulldog no one messed with and a big fish in the Formula 1 power stakes battle, but his legacy leaves a team split between the team leadership of Arrivabene and technical responsibilities which is Binotto’s domain.

Hence two factions have emerged, Arrivabene’s guys and Binotto’s crew – the latter strengthened when he had the ear of the late Ferrari president up until his passing.

Since then, Louis Camilleri has been installed as CEO at Maranello, while Agnelli heir John Elkann assumes the role of Chairman, but both appear to hands-off at this point.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the weekend in Japan reports of unrest and even revolution are making the rounds in Italy, Corriere della Serra report: “The relations between Arrivabene and Binotto are at historic lows, and the barometer suggests that there is a storm on the horizon.”

“Prompting this was a catalogue of strategic errors and the technical deficiencies in the car, with word being that the team principal wants to take overall responsibility which is not quite the case as the lateral management splits it in this way.”

“Problems with updates were an issue, from Singapore they went backwards. If Mercedes grew in stature, Ferrari have remained anchored and have not kept up with their rivals.”

In conclusion, reporter Daniele Sparisci wrote: “Whether harmony is found or the worst of this power-struggle remains to be seen, Arrivabene is well known to Camilleri [his former boss at Philip Morris] but there does not seem to be unlimited trust there.”

“While the president and main shareholder of Ferrari, John Elkann, remains silent for now, Until when?”

Since taking over the reigns, Marlboro man Arrivabene has been notoriously tight-lipped when dealing with media, and whenever he has the Ferrari team chief has always been ultra protective of his team.

But that all went south on Saturday afternoon after Ferrari seriously blundered qualifying, outsmarting themselves on a tyre call that ultimately blew their campaign to bits live on TV. Arrivabene was livid.

No doubt most astute F1 followers made a double take when they saw the Ferrari duo emerge for their last Q3 runs on Pirelli intermediate tyres, their wise men predicted rain which did come but literally a minute or less too late. It was one of those hero-or-zero calls, for Ferrari it was a big zero considering the circumstances and resultant damage.

So obvious was the qualy gaffe, that Arrivabene finally broke his veil of silence and lashed out like never before, “What happened [Saturday] was unacceptable. I am very angry. It is not the first time that these mistakes have occurred. I do not feel like pointing my fingers at someone in particular, but I’m very disappointed.”

“Unlike on other occasions, it was easy to understand what was happening on the track, as all our opponents left the pits with slicks. Sometimes it is more useful to take your eyes off computers and watch the track, using common sense,” mocked the Ferrari boss.

Of course, this was all big news in Italy, La Gazzetta Sportiva F1 writer Andrea Cremonesi, explained in his report, “In reality, the reaction is the clear indicator that there is a rift in the team, which has long been brewing and exploded after the death of Sergio Marchionne.”

“On one side, Arrivabene, and on the other the technical structure led by Mattia Binotto. At the center of the battle is the assumption of responsibility. Arrivabene now feels the need to shape the team to his vision, which is for him to have an even more central role.”

“The concept is: if I put my face to it then I choose the people and all of them report to me. Which, with the current structure does not happen,” concluded Cremonesi.

Writing for La Stampa, Jacopo D’Orsi also uncovered the dissent and growing unrest within the team, “In the last two months everything has happened to Vettel:

• questionable strategies in Hungary and Singapore;
• the own goal of sports management in Monza by firing Raikkonen who they needed to help in their championship quest;
• they sent their two drivers in qualifying with intermediates on a dry track, and then with slick for the wet, the opposite of what should be done.”

“This was the point of no return in the internal balance at Maranello, perhaps it is the first step of a new era, of changes that are inevitable at the top. A revolution seems to be at the door.”

“The pit wall is composed of six people under the technical direction of Mattia Binotto, supported by the team principal. That the divergence of views existed could be understood but that it is such a serious rift became clear from Singapore and Sochi onwards.”

Alessandra Retico, of La Repubblica, sheds more light on the matter, “Perhaps, simply, the Cavallino lost a brave captain who tows the red ship and all its crew into port. Sergio Marchionne had that kind of hold on the team.”

“At Suzuka, Ferrari needed to get it right so as to maintain their pressure on the championship. Instead, they were a shambles, trying a desperate tactic that finally opened the door to their weaknesses.”

“Arrivabene, always very protective of his team as the role imposes on him and always sparingly cautious with his comments because Marchionne did not appreciate too many words, this time opened the ‘dressing room’ and summoned the press immediately after the final whistle.”

“When he noticed that the inters were on the cars it was he himself who got on the radio immediately and asked the pitwall, led by Binotto, if that was the right call to make.”

“Worse was afterwards when Arrivabene went live with his criticism, those words should have been said in private not in public. For sure he already regrets the outburst.”

“But it is is also important to notice the faults of the one who manages the technical sector, the too silent Mattia Binotto. It is clear that there has not been the long-awaited update for the car while Mercedes, on the other hand, has clearly improved.”

“Binotto prefers playing hide-and-seek, not explaining when explaining needs to be made. Where is the problem? Engine? Chassis? Setup? Suspension?”

“Come out and tell us because the silence, spontaneous or imposed, creates more confusion, leaves room for speculation, hypotheses and uncontrolled voices. Even clarifying, talking, explaining, is part of the team game,” concluded Retico’s report.

This collection of editorials provides telling insight into Ferrari and their ever-growing problems by journalists whose beat is to cover the Scuderia and are duty bound to keep the army of Tifosi in the loop.

Ferrari under Arrivabene have not been kind to the press, particularly to Italian media, providing minimum information, unhelpful and by some accounts outright rude, even when they were ruling the roost earlier in the season.

As tends to happen in life, stubborn arrogance has backfired, now for the Reds to find sympathy among F1 scribes will be tough…

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HAMILTON: SHOW MORE RESPECT FOR SEBASTIAN

After comprehensively trouncing his title rival Sebastian Vettel at the Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has come to the defence of the Ferrari driver by calling on media to show respect for the four-times Formula 1 World Champion as they bombard him and the Italian with criticism.

In the wake of a dismal weekend at Suzuka for Ferrari, their self-inflicted destruction visible to all in qualifying and on race day while, in contrast, Hamilton blitzed to his ninth victory of the season, leading a Mercedes one-two while the Reds faltered and had virtually conceded both 2018 titles to their rivals by the end of the day.

A barrage of criticism has descended on Maranello from media, the Italian press particularly vehement and Vettel copping big flak from every quarter after that “if I don’t go for that gap and the gap was there…” ill-timed overtake attempt went awry, and any title hopes are now as unlikely as the earth being bombarded by cheese balls from the moon.

News of the post-Suzuka fallout obviously reached Hamilton who is clearly aware of the bad mouthing, the Briton reacted by delivering a message of support to Vettel on Instagram:

Toto Wolff also defended Vettel’s actions, “I’m not sure it was his mistake. Sebastian recovered well from his starting position and at that stage was a solid fourth.”

“As a racing driver you either have to go for it or not and the door looked open. He gave it a go but a racing incident caused him to drop all the way back,” added the Mercedes chief.

Hamilton heads to Austin, seeking to wrap up his fifth F1 world title, with a 67 points lead over Vettel in the drivers’ standings while Mercedes lead Ferrari by 78 points.

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JOS: VETTEL IS USED TO EVERYONE GETTING OUT OF HIS WAY

Jos Verstappen has weighed in on the controversy regarding his son Max Verstappen and title contender Sebastian Vettel, after the pair collided early during the Japanese Grand Prix, while the Red Bull driver survived to finish third the Ferrari driver spun and had to settle for sixth.

Despite his son being in the thick of things on most race weekends, Verstappen senior is happy with the progress the 21-year-old has made by putting behind him a scrappy first half of the season by raising his game in the latter stanza.

Of the scrap on Sunday between his son and Vettel, Verstappen said, “I think if you are approaching that bend at a speed of 270 or 280 km/h which you need to take at 200 km/h per hour, it leaves you only a very short moment to brake. I think it was not the right place to make that move.”

“Vettel is used to everyone just getting out of his way. That is certainly the case with drivers who have a Ferrari engine. You can see that in the race. Sebastian knows how hard it is to overtake Max and I think he was a bit too optimistic there,” added the former F1 driver.

Vettel insists there was a gap, as the pair fought for the same piece of tarmac through Spoon Curve, but it was shut by Verstappen. The German said he would seek out his young rival for a private discussion before the next race.”

A call that Verstappen senior appreciates, “I hope he does, Max can also have his say when they speak. That is a better way than having everything reported via social media.”

After watching Verstappen junior on the podium in Japan, Jos told on Ziggo Sport, “You can see he has made progress during the course of the year. After Monaco, he took some positive steps. He now thinks a bit more during the races.”

“Did I tell him to do that? Yes, several times. We discuss everything and he listens because we have agreed that I can always have my say but in the end, he does what he wants,” added the father.

With regards to the clash with Kimi Raikkonen before the Vettel incident, the FIA stewards deemed Verstappen had joined the track dangerously and penalised him five seconds for his antics while defending third place from the Ferrari driver.

Jos argued, “He was trying to get back on the track. Then Kimi is next to him while Max has to make the turn. It would have been easier for him if he had simply gone straight ahead, as Valtteri later did. He did not do that because he was worried he would be punished. As a driver, you have no idea what is right.”

“Above all, a driver should know what is allowed and what is not. That is still very unclear. One cuts the corner and nothing happens, the other tries to get back to the track and gets punished. That’s not right.”