F1: Raikkonen says Verstappen headed for 'massive accident'

Kimi Raikkonen believes Max Verstappen will have a "massive accident sooner or later" if he doesn't change his behavior in on track battles in Formula 1.

The Ferrari driver was furious with Verstappen for the way he defended on the Kemmel Straight in the Belgian Grand Prix, feeling the teenager moved too late to cover the inside line.

"The problem is when I came with DRS I am 15-20kph faster than him and once I turn he waits and waits and turns after me," said Raikkonen. "The speed difference is quite high so I have to brake and slow down to avoid him.

"It's not what should happen at full speed, but for whatever reasons the stewards say it is OK. If I would not have braked, we would have had a massive accident and I'm sure it will happen sooner or later if this doesn't change.

"It seems to be OK [because Verstappen was not penalized], so it's interesting to see once something happens who is to blame.

"Maybe it needs an accident before things get more clear to everybody, but hopefully not because it can be bad for somebody and nobody wants to see something like that happen. Fighting hard is fine but something like that should not be correct."

VETTEL: WE SHOULD TALK TO EACH OTHER

Raikkonen's Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel, who was caught up in a first-corner tangle with Verstappen and Raikkonen at the start, says he will talk to the Red Bull racer about his driving.

"I'm not a fan of penalizing people, it's not the way to educate," said Vettel. "We need to talk to each other, we need to have respect.

"The best way to educate is to talk rather than create a fuss in the media. We are men and it is best to stand in front of each other and talk to each other. It's right to criticize but it's wrong to try and make too much of a story.

"I get along with him, I like him, but certain movements, especially under braking – which I faced when I was racing with him – are not correct. It's probably something that needs to click and he needs to understand."

Speaking about the first corner incident specifically, Vettel described Verstappen's move on the inside as "bold" and explained that he turned in on the two cars to his right because they were in his blind spot.

"With hindsight it was easy – if I'd turned in later or wider only those two would be making contact and I'd get away with it," he said. "But the problem is that you can't fit three cars in that corner and the inside one is able to trigger trouble on the outside, which is what both Kimi and myself suffered from."

Originally on Autosport.com