Marko on Ocon: "I don't talk with that idiot"

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has expressed his criticism on Esteban Ocon after the Frenchman's collision with Max Verstappen, saying it was "ridiculous" from Ocon to fight with Verstappen when he did.

Despite Mercedes winning the constructors' championship, the Ocon-Verstappen clash was the story of the day. The two have a history that dates back a long time, and some old wounds might have been reopened when Ocon ran into Verstappen when the Dutchman was in first place and was a lap ahead of Ocon.

Marko even suggested that Ocon's ties to Mercedes might have been a part of his collision with Verstappen.

"A runner-up, who is under contract at Mercedes, pushes the leader off the track," he told ORF.

"And then he only gets a stop-and-go penalty of ten seconds... I don't want to comment any further on it, but I've never seen anything like that.

"It's ridiculous. If you're a lap behind, you absolutely can't get near the battle at the front. It's idiotic!"

Marko did praise Verstappen for gaining on Hamilton after the collision, as the Red Bull had a damaged floor after the incident had happened. At the end of the race, Verstappen had closed the six-second gap down to a second-and-a-half.

"He missed 50 points of downforce and he still got close.

"But the fact that his fantastic race gets ruined by this idiocy is unbelievable. He had so much speed and he had it so easy. It's a pity. I don't understand it.

"A talk with Ocon? I don't talk with that idiot."