Max Verstappen has hit back at “biased people” in Formula One, saying he “knows who they are” but adding it is “not his problem” if they have an issue with his driving.

Red Bull’s triple world champion was in defiant mood ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix where he will once again lock horns with McLaren’s Lando Norris, his closest challenger in this year’s title race.

An increasingly tense battle ratcheted up a few notches in Mexico last weekend, where Verstappen received a combined 20-second penalty for driving Norris off the track. That prompted Norris to describe his driving as “dangerous” – the Briton admitted on Thursday that they had not spoken since – and led to plenty of criticism of Verstappen’s driving style.

1996 world champion Damon Hill told the Sky Sports F1 podcast that Verstappen was “incapable of racing fairly” as it was not in his nature to do so. Johnny Herbert, meanwhile, who was a steward in Mexico, raised eyebrows by criticising Verstappen’s driving in an interview with Action Network.

“Verstappen’s driving style was harsh,” Herbert said. “Especially when he’s taking a fellow driver off the track. It’s an absolute no-no from me, current drivers, former drivers and stewards.

“I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico. He doesn’t need to do it, he’s so good in the cockpit and at this point in the Championship, he just needs to stay out of trouble and drive as well as possible. When Verstappen goes into this horrible mindset of trying to gain an advantage by taking a fellow driver off the race track so Ferrari can get the one-two, that is where Verstappen needs to know he doesn’t have to do that. Just win in the cleanest possible way you can.”

‘I think I know what I am doing’

Asked about the criticism of his driving this week, Verstappen did not name names, but he was undoubtedly referring to Hill and Herbert, and possibly to Sky Sports F1 in general. The Dutch driver boycotted the channel a couple of years ago.

“I don’t listen to those individuals,” Verstappen said. “I just do my thing. I am a three-time world champion and I think I know what I am doing. I have my opinions and I don’t need to share them.”

Pressed on who he was referring to, Verstappen added: “I know who they are and that is the most important thing. Some people are just a bit biased. And I mean, I get it. It is fine. But it is not my problem at the end of the day. I just continue with my life and I keep performing.”

Verstappen said he preferred to listen to people who were close to him and had his best interests at heart, suggesting there were double standards at play, not just in terms of criticism of his driving, but also his recent punishment for swearing.

Verstappen, who was handed community service for swearing in an official FIA conference in Singapore, noted that Charles Leclerc swore in Mexico last weekend and received no penalty.

“People that are close to me and objective and not just there to stir…I cannot say the word because I will get another (penalty),” Verstappen said when asked whose advice he was prepared to take. “Apparently, it [swearing] only counts for me anyway because after the race in Mexico someone was swearing and I didn’t hear anything from it. So it’s better I don’t swear again.

“But yeah, some people are just being very annoying and I know who these people are. I don’t really pay a lot of attention to them anyway. I have got to this stage of my career with my own decisions so I think I know what I am doing.”

‘I still have a lot of respect for Max’

Norris, who counts Verstappen as among his closest friends on the grid, admitted the pair had not spoken since their latest coming together last weekend.

“I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say. I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does. Not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and what he has achieved. But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor, or anything like that. Max knows what he has to do. He knows he did wrong. Deep down he does. And it’s for him to change, not for me.”

The Briton starts the Brazilian weekend – which includes a sprint race on Saturday offering an extra handful of points – 47 points behind Verstappen with four race weekends remaining.

He said he was “chilled” but added that he needed Oscar Piastri up there with him this weekend to try to eke the maximum out of the weekend, not just for his title challenge but to keep Ferrari behind them in the constructors’. The Australian made an error in qualifying in Mexico and had to start from near the back of the field.

“We need to have two cars up there fighting every weekend if we want to keep Ferrari behind,” Norris said. “Oscar made a mistake last weekend but it was one of his first mistakes ever in his career in qualifying. I expect him to bounce back this weekend.”