Martin Brundle hailed
Kimi Raikkonen’s move to keep
Max Verstappen at bay in the early stages of the Austrian
Grand Prix.
Raikkonen and Verstappen were battling it out for position in the opening laps of the race after a stunning move from Sebastian Vettel off the start.
The pair struggled from the start and were sitting behind the German and looking to get up to speed.
And Brundle delivered a brilliant line about Raikkonen’s manoeuvre.
“The ice man gave the Dutchman his whole freezer there,” Brundle said on Sky Sports commentary.
Both man were fighting it out as Charles Leclerc held his position after starting on pole and Lewis Hamilton, along with team-mate Valtteri Bottas after a poor start from Verstappen.
Brundle explained what happened to Verstappen: “He just didn't get away, and he had to have a second go at getting the car underway.
“But he kept his head thankfully into the first corner, as that's when you try to undo some of that damage immediately.
"Anti-stall kicked and he didn't have enough revs on. So much grip, and that's where Vettel got him around the outside of T1.
"Verstappen in P5, 14 and a half seconds off the lead.
"It will now be interesting to see his relative pace and whether he can haul them in later on."
Verstappen is a fiery character and will no doubt be furious with his start to the race in Austria as he looks to drop further back in the title race.
Verstappen's future has been called into questions over recent months and it emerged last week he has a break clause in his deal with Red Bull and could leave the team unless he wins a race.
Verstappen has been linked with both Mercedes and Ferrari but both teams have been coy over any future moves.
The Italian team’s chief Mattia Binotto distanced himself from the speculation when asked about bringing Verstappen over.
“No, certainly not,” Binotto said. “I can only confirm what Seb said.
“We have got two drivers, we have got contracts in place, we are very happy.
“Next season our line-up is fixed and there are no reasons why we should change.
“Things are going well in that respect."