‘Not my problem’… Max Verstappen responds to Lewis Hamilton criticism at Belgian GP

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Max Verstappen has done much of his talking on the track at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutchman was the class of the field in Saturday’s qualifying session, even if he was carrying a penalty into the session.

Verstappen was relegated to 11th on the grid for Sunday’s race after exceeding the maximum allocation of engines for the season. Drivers are allowed four for the campaign, and he’s now on his fifth.

But the 26-year-old set a formidable pace around a wet Spa, lapping six-tenths faster than Charles Leclerc, who inherits pole position. He looks to have rediscovered top form after an out-of-sorts weekend in Hungary.

Things became so hostile over the radio that Verstappen had to hold clear-the-air talks with Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer. He reminded Lambiase not to take his criticism personally.

The reigning world champion sounded furious with Red Bull’s strategy calls during the race, which ended with a fifth-place finish – one of his poorest results of the season. He hit Lewis Hamilton late on after failing to execute a clean overtake on the Mercedes driver, who had fresher tyres.

Martin Brundle criticised Verstappen for his ‘disrespectful’ tone over the team radio. He feels that he should air his grievances in private instead.

Max Verstappen responds after Lewis Hamilton tells him to behave like a champion

Longtime rival Hamilton was another to call out Verstappen’s conduct ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. During his media session on Thursday (Sky Sports), the 39-year-old said the Red Bull superstar should ‘act like a world champion’.

Speaking to outlets including RacingNews365 at Spa, Verstappen was given his chance to respond. He did so in a relaxed manner rather than igniting a war of words.

He believes there’s no set standard that an F1 champion must meet. And it doesn’t bother him that Hamilton clearly disagrees.

Verstappen also questioned why his behaviour continues to make headlines. After all, the matter has been dealt with behind the scenes.

“Do you know how it is like [to act like a World Champion]?” he said. “Everyone can have their opinion. That’s all fine, but I can’t do anything with that.

“That’s not my problem either. You don’t have to dwell on it for very long either. It’s all resolved and we’ll just get on with it.”

Ferrari boss to speak to Hamilton over Verstappen comments

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was another who was asked for his view on Hamilton’s remarks. Vasseur, of course, will oversee the Englishman when he moves to Maranello next year.

However, he doesn’t agree with his outlook. He pointed out that F1 drivers can be heard over the radio at the most intense moments, an issue athletes in other sports don’t have to worry about.

Nonetheless, Vasseur plans to speak with Hamilton to gauge his views. The Mercedes man is the second-most experienced figure on the grid behind Fernando Alonso.

Verstappen has also come under scrutiny for his late-night sim-racing sessions. Red Bull director Helmut Marko indicated that the team would no longer allow him to take part in such events during a race weekend.