Max Verstappen: I was the victim at Spa, not the perpetrator

Max Verstappen believes he was the victim in the first corner collision with Ferrari's Formula 1 drivers that sparked controversy later in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The teenager lost part of his front wing and damaged the floor of his Red Bull as he, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen tangled at the La Source hairpin, and his driving later in the race came in for criticism from the Finn.

"I was a victim in the first corner, you could see clearly I was on the inside, almost 90%," he told Autosport.

"I didn't lock a tyre, so it didn't show I was diving up the inside, I was just trying to make my corner.

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"First of all Kimi started to squeeze me but we are not touching each other but then Sebastian decided to turn in on both of us.

"He turned into Kimi and Kimi hit me so from there on, the front wing was destroyed and my floor."

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - GP of Belgium 2016

Image credit: AFP

Raikkonen was particularly unhappy with a late move to defend position from Verstappen on the Kemmel Straight, calling the teenager's driving "fucking ridiculous" on the radio.

Verstappen, who finished 11th, admitted he robustly defended his position as he was disappointed with the way he was treated by his rivals at the first corner.

"They should understand that first of all they destroyed my race in Turn 1 so why should I say 'OK here you can go'," he said.

"Of course it was quite aggressive, but they destroyed my race so it's not like I say you can take my position that easy as well."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner conceded Verstappen "pushed the limit" with his driving but pointed out the stewards chose not to penalise him.

"Drivers tend to sort these things on the circuit," he said.

"Max has pushed the limit today but the referees were happy so there are no more comments really from our side.

"It was firm, it was on the edge and he got away with it today and the stewards were happy with it.

"If there was an issue, or it contravened any rules, [steward] Danny Sullivan is a pretty experienced guy and he would have called them up or [race director] Charlie Whiting would have reported it to the stewards.

"When he [Verstappen] looks back at it, it was on the edge.

"Maybe he will take another look at it and learn from it for future races."

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