Criticism has no impact on Verstappen - Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says recent criticism of Max Verstappen's driving has had no impact on the 18-year-old.

Verstappen came under fire from Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel for his driving during the Belgian Grand Prix, with FIA race director Charlie Whiting also giving the Dutchman a "gentle warning" ahead of first practice in Monza. However, there were also defendants of Verstappen - such as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - as the Red Bull superstar remained the centre of attention.

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After Verstappen finished seventh in the Italian Grand Prix - recovering from a poor start - Horner says the 18-year-old has not been fazed by the focus on him.

"I haven’t seen any effect on him at all, obviously he takes it all on board, he’s a young guy that’s going through different experiences and growing and learning," Horner said.

"Like any 18-year-old it’s water off a ducks back, he’s focussed on his racing, he is who he is and he’s just getting on with it and he’s not changing just because someone says he should."

And Horner says the approach shows Verstappen's capacity to deal with criticism, adding: "Absolutely, I think his mental strength is back with all the super drivers they all have that strength."

Verstappen secured seventh place in the closing stages of the race at Monza, overtaking Sergio Perez with five laps remaining. The result leaves him sixth in the drivers' championship, 40 points adrift of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in third.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.