Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says that liking a post critical of Red Bull's treatment of Kiwi driver Liam Lawson was "not a mistake".
Lawson was dropped as Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull and demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races. In those races, he failed to score points and struggled to get any pace out of the RB21. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda will replace Lawson at Red Bull.
In the aftermath of Lawson's demotion, Dutch former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde posted to Instagram, describing Red Bull's treatment of Lawson as a "panic move" and "close to bullying". Verstappen and several other drivers on the grid liked the post.
When asked about the post before the Japanese Grand Prix weekend kicks off today, Verstappen said, "I liked the comment, the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake."
The four-time drivers' world champion did not elaborate on his feelings about the driver swap, saying his reaction was "shared with the team".
“But in general about not only the swap; about everything. We discussed that during last weekend back at the factory.
"Everything has been shared with the team, how I think about everything. Sometimes it’s not necessary to always share everything in public.”
Speaking about the car, which has appeared to be difficult to drive for both drivers at the start of the season, Verstappen said improvement was "where the focus needs to be".
"That is what I have said also to the team, and that is also what I am working on.
“Naturally, I think as a team, you want both cars to use the full potential,” he said. “For us, that has been a bit of a difficulty for whatever reason. We always try to do the best we can. I always try to do the best I can as well with my car.
"I think in general we just need to focus on finding a bit more performance from the car, making it a bit more predictable. I think that will help everyone.”
'I'm excited to get going' - Lawson
At a press conference yesterday, Lawson said the demotion was "something I wasn't expecting".
Lawson said he would be "making the most" of this weekend's grand prix.
"Obviously, I'm still in Formula 1, and I still have that... I'm excited to get going."
Lawson had never driven at the first two tracks of the season. Racing at Suzuka, a track he was familiar with from his Super Formula days, was something he was "looking forward to from the start".
"Just to have a proper preparation, and now I have that," he said. "It's one of my favourite tracks to drive on, so I'm excited."
On his feelings about the car, Lawson said, "the ingredients are there" for a good race.
Lawson said he had the opportunity to "prove why I belong here, and that's what I'll be doing this weekend".
"The only way I can do that is by driving fast."
It had been a rough start to full-time F1 life for Lawson, who failed to score points and struggled to keep up with Verstappen for the season's first two races in the difficult-to-drive RB21 car.
He crashed with 10 laps to go at the Australian Grand Prix after starting from the pit lane. He moved up to 12th, also starting from the pit, at the China Grand Prix after a stack of penalties for other drivers.
Lawson will take to the track in a Racing Bulls car for the first time this season this evening for the first practice session.
He insisted the move had not dented his confidence.
"It doesn’t really change how I feel about myself," he said. "The best opportunity I had felt like it was with Red Bull Racing, and that’s where we’re all working towards.
"That’s what I was working towards since joining the junior programme as a 16-year-old, so obviously, for me, I’m going to feel like I would have liked to have made that opportunity work, and that’s in my best interests."
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