14/11/2016
NEWS STORY
Sebastian Vettel less than impressed with Max Verstappen's charge through the field.
While the rest of the world is singing the praises of Max Verstappen this morning - a line we've have written before and appear destined to repeat many more times over the coming years - one person not sold on the Dutch youngster's bravura performance at Interlagos is Sebastian Vettel.
The four-time world champion was one of the last challenges facing Verstappen as he recovered from a late switch from intermediate back to full wets which dropped him to fourteenth.
Having disposed of one rival after another the next in his sights was Vettel. The German, who had himself staged an impressive fight back following a previous spin, held off Verstappen when he made his initial bid in one of his favoured passing spots (T3) but was subsequently passed in T12 (Juncao) when the Red Bull driver went down the inside forcing the Ferrari wide.
Not for the first time the words "he pushed me off" echoed over the airwaves.
"I think I was racing him side-by-side," said the German. "He saw me, I still had a little bit of my nose ahead and he was much faster. So it was about the corner where he gets past, not if he gets past. But I don't think it was correct."
Referring to his spin - at the same corner - earlier in the race, he said: "Obviously, it was not ideal in the first part to spin. I had some aquaplaning but I wasn't the only one. I think it was a good recovery in the end.
"I struggled to get past Carlos, I don't know why it took a lot of laps but by then it was too late."
Other drivers who called foul over the course of the afternoon were Fernando Alonso when Vettel passed him in T10 as they battled for seventh, and Esteban Ocon of Nico Hulkenberg when the German passed the Manor driver for ninth.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Interlagos, here.