Max Verstappen's Brazilian GP performance can't be taught - father

The Red Bull driver was one of the stars of the wet race at Interlagos, eventually recovering to third place on an eventful afternoon that finished with a charge through the field after a late pitstop for fresh wet tyres.

Verstappen Sr claims even he "was surprised" by what he saw his son produce.

"I know him a lot and we've done a lot of races together," he told Autosport. "It was unbelievable.

"When he made that extra stop I thought 'OK, this race is gone'.

"But then he started racing and I haven't seen anything like that.

"Some people say [Ayrton] Senna did something like that at Donington [in 1993]. I don't know, but it was incredible.

"If you really watch carefully the way he was driving, and which lines he was taking, he was the only driver in the whole field who was doing that.

"You can't teach that, but if you really analyse the whole thing, you analyse the first six laps behind the safety car he was everywhere.

"It looked like he was pushing Kimi [Raikkonen], but he was looking for grip.

"He was preparing himself, and [third place] is the result of that. Also his car control. It's everything together. Preparation, everything."

After missing the previous four races Verstappen Sr returned to the paddock in Brazil, but he dismissed claims it was at the behest of Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.

Wolff called Verstappen to discuss a number of topics that included his son's driving of late, a move that angered Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Wolff insisted he had "zero regrets" about the call, with Verstappen claiming the whole matter had been "blown up".

"The fact I'm back is nothing to do with the phone call or whatever," he added.

"You can see it two different ways, but it's OK.

"I get along very well with Toto, so what happened is absolutely no problem. He is a friend.

"There was no frustration with the stories. Max keeps the whole Formula 1 world talking. It's good for Formula 1 and good for Max."