Verstappen backs Pirelli over Vettel blowout

Sep.1 (GMM) Father and son Jos and Max Verstappen have sided with Pirelli over the tyre blowout saga.

While F1's official supplier has said Ferrari took too big a risk with an ambitious one-stop strategy at Spa-Francorchamps, Sebastian Vettel lashed out angrily at the quality of Pirelli's tyres.

But Toro Rosso driver Max told Austrian television Servus TV: "A one-stop strategy by Ferrari was a huge risk. Myself, I stopped three times."

And the teenage Dutchman's father Jos, himself a former F1 driver, also commented: "I have the impression that Vettel's problem was different to that of (Nico) Rosberg's.

"Vettel drove a lot of laps on that set, which is obviously more risky. We are now going to Monza where the speeds are even higher, but I do believe that Ferrari simply kept Vettel on those tyres for too long."

Verstappen is not a member of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, who have expressed concern about the incidents in Belgium.