Verstappen says no Toro Rosso demotion

As we don't know contract details, does it matter?

It matters, because its a good benchmark in how good Marko's patience is.

Than we need to know how Marko evaluated Kvyat's mistakes and Max's. As we don't know the number is pointless, therefore I'd say it still does not matter.

But thats exactly why its relevant: we get insight into the mindbloggling mind of Marko.

Quite clearly Kvyat never was Red Bull's chosen son. Verstappen was chosen to be the next Sebastian. I am not saying that he can't be demoted, but it would take a lot more than what has happened. Max is going through a really rough patch, but while he's been making many mistakes, there have also been flashes of brilliance.

Furthermore he is a proven talent, a race winner. Yes, he has to recover soon, but pretty much every driver other than maybe Alonso has had a rough patch of a few races due to underperformance in the last 5 years. Max is a superstar, incredibly divisive as other superstars have been in the past. I'm certain that this stretch of 5 races will be merely a footnote in his career.

You just keep telling yourself that, lol

"Excelling" in F1 is being fast and NOT making stupid mistakes. Max has every opportunity to show his speed and talent, and still Ricci is winning while Max is watching from the pits

Points told the story last year and currently tell the same story this year. If you don't finish the race then you don't get points. Rather have the consistent high scoring finisher than an occassional high scoring liability.

While I do think Gasly would do well, I think it would be a mistake. Max has had about 5 very bad races, but he's still shown some flashes of brilliance. Sure, it doesn't matter if he crashes anyway. However, Max has a couple of seasons filled with highlights, a few wins, and several podiums to show for his talent. You don't just let a driver like that go because of a rough patch.

Gasly certainly appears good enough to merit a chance.

My statistics teacher once said there were three great lies in this world: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics. :)

Mine said "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
(Ok, I had to look that up..)

Any track without run-off areas isn't a Verstappen kind of track. His whole style of driving is built around the fact that when he makes mistakes, there's usually no consequences since there's nothing for him to hit on most modern tracks. In Monaco, there are walls rather than paved parking lots when he screws up or cuts corners.

It will be interesting to see how he performs in Singapore, since its a very similar yet very different track.

Kvyat was demoted cause RedBull wanted Verstappen in that seat, and only because of that. Marko only needed an excuse and Kvyat gave it to him...

Interesting to see everyone's different point of view. I agree that Max has made mistakes this year that he should have avoided however that's how you learn. If you don't make mistakes than you don't progress period. With regards to driver style I would rather watch an attacking driver that brings excitement to the sport than watching someone who's afraid to overtake. Hence I would rather support the likes of Vettel and Verstappen even after their mistakes a it just brings more entertainment.

Love or hate Verstappen he's great for the sport.

@BOUDY - certainly you do have a point. But drivers like that reach a point where their number of mistakes have to go down. If it doesn't, that driver will no longer be "good for the sport" and instead viewed in the same manner of a Maldonado or, more recently, Grosjean.

When the business is hot, you can do nothing wrong. When the business is cold, you can do nothing right.

@BHURT - Agreed there is always an point negatives out way the positives. It's at that point when there could be an change. No-one is above this principle. However most world champions went through an similar phase that verstappen is going through, this is nothing to do with his driving style but more so with getting ready in order to challenge for an WC IMHO.

The drivers/managers/teams will look at things to gain an advantage. This is both technical an non technical. Examples are: word play of Hamilton towards Ricciardo, Lauda on Verstappen, Horner towards Wolff all these are designed to destabilize and gain an advantage.

If he makes any more mistakes he will certainly risk eclipsing Grosjean as the most accident prone driver around. Personally I think he's good for the sport but he would be better still if he could limit himself to two or three mistakes per season.