Max Verstappen has admitted that his father is taking a back seat now that he has secured a future at a top Formula 1 team.

The 18-year-old stepped up from Toro Rosso earlier this year, won in Barcelona and has now secured at least two further years at Red Bull Racing.

So for the first time in Max's 27-race F1 career, his father and former F1 driver Jos is not in Azerbaijan this weekend.

"I talk to him quite a lot on the phone," Max told De Telegraaf.

"Because I'm with a top team now, he can do less during a grand prix weekend. At Toro Rosso it was necessary but now he's a bit bored.

"For me not a lot has changed, because I didn't see my father a lot during a race weekend anyway. I'm busy with the engineers and in meetings. I was only talking with him in the evening at the hotel and in the morning on the way to the track."

Verstappen posted the seventh-fastest time in today's practice session ahead of tomorrow's race.