Max Verstappen has shied away from making any further comment on Ferrari’s engine performance heading into this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix – but is pleased to see the F🎐IA issuing technical directives clarifying the regulations.

Ferrari had enjoyed a surge in form since the s🗹ummer break, winning three races, but finished over 50 seconds off the pace in Austin amid allegations it had been forced to make changes to its power unit.

Verstappen said💦 Ferrari’s dip in performance was “not strange” after a technical directive relating to fuel flow systems was issued by the FIA in the lead-up to the race, and used the word “cheating” on Dutch TV, sparking an angry response from Ferrꩲari tea🧸m boss Mattia Binotto.

Asked on Thursday at Interlagos if h🐎e was sticking to his original comments, Verstappen said: “I prefer🦩 not to comment on it.

“I think it’s much mo🌠re important that we just look ahead and focus on the l🀅ast two races, and just fight it out on-track.”

A fresh༒ FIA technical directive has been issued ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix reminding teams they are forbidden from burning liquid from the cooling systems in the engine, seemingly aimed at Ferrari.

Verstappen said heඣ was💝 glad to see the FIA taking action to clarify the rules in this way.

“It’s good꧟, the FIA is definitely on top of it, and it’s now very clear I think for everyone what is allowed 🃏and what is not allowed,” Verstappen said.

“I think from their side, it’s good that they wrote everything. Of cours✃e it’s a very complex r🃏egulation with everything.

“For them it’s also not the easiest job to be on top of everything straight away, becau🤪se like I said, it’s a lot of rules.”

Additional reporting by Julianne Cerasoli.