Nico Rosberg reacts to F1 fans loving awkward Jos Verstappen interaction

Nico Rosberg has reacted to his nail-bitingly awkward conversation with Jos Verstappen at Spa.

The former F1 champion turned Sky Sports broadcaster spoke to the father of Max Verstappen ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

With Martin Brundle in tow, the interaction has swiftly become one of his more memorable grid walks of the season.

Rosberg and Brundle took their chance to ask Jos Verstappen if he was pleased that Christian Horner had been sacked by Red Bull.

“Well, they decided to change. I am fine with everything,” Jos replied.

Rosberg reminded him of his comments from last season when he called for Horner to exit to avoid the team being torn apart.

“That was one-and-a-half years ago,” Jos replied. “It’s different. I have nothing to say. It’s fine.”

A grinning Rosberg asked: “Now you are quiet?”

Jos responded: “I am always quiet.”

Rosberg reacted on the Sky F1 podcast: “It’s nice to see that people appreciated our entertainment, which is what it’s all about, the whole sport.

“Not that I do that on purpose. I just ask the questions that are of interest.”

Nico Rosberg: ‘It was not Verstappen camp’ who ousted Christian Horner

The interaction with Verstappen’s father arose because of never-ending rumours that the driver’s inner-circle were in favour of Horner’s sacking.

But Rosberg said: “I agree that it was not the Verstappen camp being involved in the Horner exit.

“It feels to me that Red Bull came to the conclusion that, under Horner, too much talent was leaving the team, the key talents.

“There was a negative spiral at Red Bull for the past two years. The time has come for a new era, to reset and rebuild.”

Helmut Marko has shed more light on the true reason that Horner lost his job.

Bernie Collins commented: “It does feel that the team has freefallen with the loss of people from the pitwall and from the background.

“Can that team start to recover? The management didn’t see enough recovery with Christian at the helm. So they thought something needed to change.

“Looking ahead to future years, losing someone like Adrian Newey, Will Courtenay, their head of race strategy who moved to McLaren.

“It feels like a sinking camp so how do they stop that and change the trajectory of the team?

“How much stemmed from the decisions about the engine that Red Bull runs? How much stemmed from disagreements that we are not privy to?

“How much has this been building over years of decisions that people haven’t agreed with?”

Laurent Mekies leads Red Bull into his second F1 grand prix as the new team principal this weekend in Hungary.

Verstappen is significantly trailing McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in his pursuit of a fifth drivers’ title.

But there are, at least, positive noises that he will stay put at Red Bull in 2026 despite constant rumours about an exit.