Max Verstappen’s rivals may not have been too impressed by his robust defence against Kimi Raikkonen in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix but he is sure it would have got the approval of some of the sport’s legends.

“We are fighting, you know, it’s not like we are on a Sunday drive,” the Red Bull driver said in Hockenheim.

“That’s how I approach a race because we are there to fight and we are there to score points and I think (the late Ayrton) Senna and (Alain) Prost would like it as well.”

Verstappen and Raikkonen made contact late in Sunday’s race, damaging the Ferrari’s front wing, while waging a hard-fought battle for fifth. Raikkonen felt the 18-year-old’s driving was against the rules that forbid a driver from making more than one move to defend his position.

Multiple champions Senna and Prost engaged in many of the fiercest tussles the sport has seen, characterised by contact and hard wheel-to-wheel racing.

When asked for their views about the battle, which saw Verstappen finish fifth, one place ahead of Raikkonnen, other drivers agreed that the Dutchman had been a touch too aggressive.

“As drivers we all know that moving in the braking zone is the most dangerous thing you can do, because the (other) guy is at 300km/h and he probably hasn’t hit the brakes yet,” said McLaren’s Jenson Button.

“Moving is a no-no, and he (Verstappen) obviously did move in the braking zones. I can understand Kimi’s frustrations.”

Button’s team-mate, double world champion Fernando Alonso, felt Verstappen’s driving was “illegal” while Williams’s Felipe Massa felt the Dutchman’s defence was a “little bit on the limit”.

But Verstappen, given the all-clear by stewards who did not think his moves merited an investigation, maintained he had done nothing wrong.

“Everybody can have criticism,” he said.

“It’s nice, there are some stories to read. It’s okay, fills up my day as well, so I think it’s good.”