Former F1 Champion Scolds Max Verstappen For Attitude After Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg has hit out at Max Verstappen for his "approach and mentality" after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Belgian-Dutch driver explained after the race that he was "not happy" with second place despite starting the race from fifteenth on the grid and taking the fastest lap point off of his teammate just before crossing the line.
Sergio Perez started in pole position and won the race with an approximately five second lead on Verstappen, yet, the two-time champion seemed miffed that his teammate was on the top spot of the podium instead of him.
Verstappen said in the post-race press conference:
"Of course, I recovered to second which is good and in general, the whole feeling in the team, everyone is happy.
"But personally, I am not happy.
"I am not here to be second, especially when you are working very hard at the factory to arrive here in a good state and make sure everything is spot on and you have to do a recovery race - which I like, I don't mind doing it.
"But when you are fighting it out for a championship and it looks like it is only two cars, we have to make sure the two cars are reliable."
Speaking during the Sky Sports F1 coverage after the race, Rosberg said Verstappen's comments "were not good to see" and claimed it was not "a good approach". He said:
"It is not good to see. We were also told he skipped the team meeting [on Saturday] apparently.
"I don't think it's a good approach or mentality so early in the season when the team has done such a brilliant job and worked so hard. I think he could be more gracious."