After the Grand Prix, various reports indicated that Verstappen's dad got into a heated debate with senior figures in the Red Bull garage. After ' gesturing wildly and pointing his finger ' at communications chief Paul Smith, he is said to have addressed Horner with the chilling message: "I'll keep the pressure on you, Christian."

Jos Verstappen is not known to be a patient man. The length of time it took Red Bull to sack Christian Horner after last year’s ‘sexting’ scandal must have felt like an eternity for the Briton’s arch-nemesis.