"We definitely saw some questionable driving from Max Verstappen": Former F1 mechanic rips apart Red Bull driver in Austria

Former F1 mechanic Marc Priestly claimed that Max Verstappen's driving in Austria was "questionable" and reminiscent of his earlier style which was largely criticized. The Red Bull driver made contact with Lando Norris towards the end of the race, leading to significant damage.

Verstappen started the Austrian GP in pole position and built a considerable lead early on. However, his tire aging saw him struggling with grip towards the end. Meanwhile, Norris was able to pace up and catch him for a P1 battle. The two drivers shared a close wheel-to-wheel challenge.

On lap 64 of 71, as Max Verstappen tried to defend his position on turn 3 from a diving Lando Norris, the two made contact. Both suffered a puncture and while the latter had to retire, Verstappen carried on to finish P5 with a 10-second time penalty for the incident.

Talking about the incident on his YouTube channel, Marc Priestly called out the RBR driver for his "questionable" driving and aggressive style.

"We saw a disastrous pit stop, which brought Lando Norris back into play towards the end of that race. We saw questionable strategy decisions, although that might be a little bit harsh, and we definitely saw some questionable driving from Max Verstappen when he was put under pressure in the closing laps of the Grand Prix," Priestly said. [03:14]

"It was almost like we were seeing Verstappen from years gone by when he first came [into] the sport, when he faced criticism for the aggressive nature of his driving, the questionable moves, the moving under braking."

Despite the criticism the 26-year-old faced after the race, team principal Christian Horner stated that Verstappen "is not going to change," calling him a "tough racer."

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Christian Horner claims Max Verstappen is not going to change after incident with Lando Norris

The three-time world champion was penalized 10 seconds off of his race time because of his incident with the McLaren driver. However, that did not affect Verstappen's finishing position since he had a 10-second-plus gap over the Haas in P6.

Talking to Sky Sports, Christian Horner had an interesting comment. He stated that Max Verstappen would not change and that the incident would serve as a lesson for Lando Norris on battling with the driver.

"They've spoken already, I don't think there's any issue between, you know, certainly from Max's side, he's not going to change. He's a tough racer, if you race Max Verstappen."

"And there's an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max. And I think, you know, they're just discovering that. And inevitably, there's going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close," Horner further added.