Jos Verstappen has implored Max Verstappen to "stop looking at the championship and just do his thing" at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The four-time F1 drivers' champion lines up seventh at the Red Bull Ring, and his father believes it is crucial for him to "be careful and not do anything crazy", given his precarious FIA super licence penalty points situation.
On 11 of 12 allowed points, the Dutchman will face suspension if he gets one more during the race in Spielberg. Two points drop from his record on June 30th, which will go some way to ease his plight.
It was a difficult qualifying session for the Red Bull driver, who was unable to complete his second timed lap in Q3 due to Pierre Gasly's spin at the final corner.
Despite that, Verstappen Snr. does not believe the required pace is in the RB21 at the team's home grand prix.
If his son can somehow pull off victory, he will emulate McLaren's last winner in Styria, David Coulthard, who won the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix from the same grid slot.
"I watched Q2 a little bit and I saw the last lap when he got that yellow flag," Verstappen Snr., who scored the final point of his own F1 career in that aforementioned race, told Racexpress. "But it all didn't look fast enough. I heard it on the phone too, he said, 'It's just not going well enough.'"
"When things are going well, he's at the front and hopes are high. But if you are seventh and more than half a second short, then I think hope is far away."
Ultimately, the former Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows, and Minardi driver feels Red Bull has fallen behind its F1 rivals in the development race this season.
"The other teams are also making strides," the 53-year-old said. "I think Ferrari has brought good updates and we know McLaren is always at the front.
"And Mercedes is also a little bit in between. The update that Red Bull has brought, I don't think, makes much difference. You can also see it with Yuki Tsunoda, who doesn't even qualify for Q2. The speed is way off there."
For that reason, he feels it prudent for his son to focus on his own race and not try anything that will get him in trouble.
The 27-year-old trails Oscar Piastri by 43 points - and Lando Norris by 21 - heading into the race. With the McLaren drivers starting third and first, respectively, Verstappen Snr. feels the 65-time grand prix winner should put the title fight to the back of his mind.
"He should be careful and not do anything crazy," he said. "I think the most important thing is that he just scores points. In fact, he should stop looking at the championship and just do his thing."
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