Max Verstappen insists the defensive tactics he used to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him were fair, despite receiving a personal warning from the FIA's Charlie Whiting.
The Red Bull driver finished second behind race winner Nico Rosberg, but came under intense pressure from a charging Hamilton during the final few laps.
As the pair approached the chicane on the penultimate lap, Hamilton lunged down the inside before having to switch back as Verstappen moved to block him off. Hamilton complained over team radio that Verstappen "moved under braking".
Verstappen insists it was fair and that it's his job to keep rivals behind.
"I’m not going to open the door and say ‘here you go’," he told Sky Sports F1. "Of course, I saw him moving and as soon as I saw that I closed the door, and I think he was far enough to see that I was going to close the door."
The move earned him a warning from Whiting who spoke to Verstappen one-on-one after the race, as moving under braking is frowned upon by race control.
Explaining how he kept Hamilton behind, Verstappen revealed that he compensated for their lack of straight-line speed by deploying all his battery on the long back straight leading up to the chicane.
"We are struggling a bit on the straights, I think we’re easily losing three tenths. I knew I always needed good exits out of Turn 14 and the last chicane, and luckily I managed to do that."
