Lewis Hamilton continued his war of words with Max Verstappen by blasting the youngster after the Mexican Grand Prix.
Red Bull star Verstappen lost his pole position in Mexico City after admitting ignoring the yellow flags during qualifying to set the fastest lap.
The 21-year-old fumed at the three-place penalty he received and called for a “silver car” to also be punished.
Meanwhile, on the opening lap of the race Verstappen collided with eventual winner Hamilton and suffered a puncture from the incident.
And Mercedes ace Hamilton blasted the Dutchman in his post-race interview.
“Every driver is slightly different,” Hamilton said. “Some are smart and aggressive, and some are silly with it.
“Through those experiences of racing with people you give some more space. And others you don’t have to, they’re quite respectful.
“But Max, it’s very likely you’re going to come together with Max if you don’t give him extra space. So most of the time you do.
“In my experience, I didn’t have a lot of space to give him extra space.
“I don’t think it was intentional or anything like that it was just… it’s a magnet for those kind of things. But nonetheless I managed to keep the car together in a straight line, fortunately.”
Tempers had been high between the pair all weekend as Verstappen called Hamilton a “drama queen” for his recent Instagram posts calling for environmental change.
“Yeah, I like fuel,” Verstappen said when asked of Hamilton’s posts.
“Can I say that? I don’t like electric stuff.
“Well, I like my little electric moped at home, but not for an F1 car.
“I know the environment is very important, but F1 has been around for a long time as well and I don’t think we should over-react or be drama queens about it.
“Just get on with it. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
The Formula One season continues this weekend in the United States, where Hamilton can clinch his sixth world title.