’No problem’ with Vettel as teammate - Verstappen

Max Verstappen insists he would have "no problem" racing with Sebastian Vettel as his teammate.

As Vettel’s relationship with Ferrari crumbles apparently by the hour, Red Bull boss Christian Horner continues to play down the likelihood that the quadruple world champion may return to the team he leads.

"Seb needs a good environment, but it’s difficult for us to help him because we didn’t expect Ferrari to treat him this way and put him on the market," Horner told Servus TV.

Horner and Dr Helmut Marko have both said a clear driver hierarchy works best, but Dutchman Verstappen thinks he could in fact work alongside the 33-year-old German.

"Two winning drivers in a team can work," he said, "like Daniel (Ricciardo) and me. I would have no problem with Seb as a teammate."

After the opening race of 2020, however, Vettel’s stocks are low. Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport is even referring to him as the "new Maldonado".

Vettel told Servus TV on Monday: "I spent the day in the mountains with some fresh air which helped me to relax."

But he also fired back at some of the criticism. 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, for example, "always leans out of the window with his comments", Vettel insisted.