The inner circle of Max Verstappen is reportedly unhappy with Nico Rosberg for comments he shared during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in Jeddah, Rosberg suggested that the two-time World Champion had skipped a team meeting on Saturday.
This came after Verstappen dropped out of qualifying in Q2 due to a drive shaft failure, which resulted in a P15 starting position.
“It’s not good to see that really,” Rosberg said. “Yesterday [Saturday] he left the track very quickly and skipped the team meeting apparently, that’s what we’ve been told, and I think that’s not a good approach, not a good mentality this early in the season.
“And when the team has done such a brilliant job with that car, and is working so hard and everything, he could be a little bit more gracious maybe, I would say.”
However, Verstappen was known to be unwell on the build-up to the race weekend.
On Thursday, he skipped media and track duties to recover from a stomach bug and was declared fit for the race weekend.
According to Sport1, those from Verstappen’s camp are annoyed at Rosberg for presenting the situation in that way.
The report stated: “This shows how far away Rosberg is from reality. Luckily, Sky also has Ralf Schumacher in the team, who set the record straight straightaway.”
Verstappen ended the race in second place, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking his first race win of the year.
There was controversy on social media after the race, with some claiming that Jos Verstappen, father of Max, didn’t congratulate Perez on his win after he climbed out of his car.
The rumour came amid reports of unease between the Red Bull driver duo, which was noticed last year in Brazil amid a team order spat.
However, further camera angles, that were not broadcast on the live feed, showed that Verstappen Snr patted Perez on the back to congratulate him.
