Jos: Vettel is used to everyone getting out of his way

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."