Max Verstappen's father Jos says his son's Austrian Grand Prix victory should silence any of the Red Bull star's doubters. Verstappen too his first win of 2018 at the Red Bull Ring, having previously endured an error-strewn start to the year.
The Dutchman is on the up again after Sunday's triumph in Spielberg, his third podium finish on the spin after a miserable Monaco Grand Prix in which a FP3 crash sent his hopes of winning up in smoke, with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo going on to take the win.
Crashes in China and Azerbaijan - the latter with his stable-mate - had prompted suggestions that Verstappen's aggressive driving style was hindering his results.
However, victory in Red Bull's home race was forged in a gutsy first-lap move on Kimi Raikkonen, which featured light contact, in order to capitalise on Mercedes' meltdown in the mountains and Jos says his son should stay true to himself.
"People should never again put a question mark on Max's so-called aggressive driving style," Jos told Formule 1.
"Max knows what he is doing. He has to fine-tune some small things and he understands that himself, but by gaining experience he gets better and better."
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko also praised Verstappen's performance and says he had silenced his doubters.
"Max punished all of the critics who complained so loudly about his driving style," Marko told Auto Bild.