Jos Verstappen says son ’happy at Red Bull’

Max Verstappen’s father has denied the Red Bull driver is looking for a way out of his contract.

Amid rumours his clearly-frustrated 19-year-old son would like to accept a Ferrari offer for 2018, former F1 driver Jos last week said on Twitter that an explanation by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was "bullsh*t".

Horner had said Verstappen’s troubles with reliability were "through no fault of the team or the effort the team is putting in".

When a story about Jos’ foul-mouthed response was written, the former Benetton and Minardi driver told the reporter: "Don’t make your own stories. We are happy at Red Bull."

Indeed, Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko told Kronen Zeitung newspaper that he is proud of the team’s recovery after a difficult start to the season.

"As far as the chassis is concerned, we are probably the strongest team," he said.

"But we still have to work on reliability and also the engine.

"We have had six failures this season, and I’m especially sorry for Max Verstappen," Marko added.