Max Verstappen claims that after getting a penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix, he has lost all respect for his opponent, George Russell.
Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell during Saturday’s qualifying session by driving too slowly. It caused his Red Bull to fall behind the Briton from the pole position on the grid.
When they went to the stewards to talk about the incident, Verstappen was unhappy with Russell’s actions.
Verstappen admitted: “I was quite surprised when sitting there in the stewards’ room, what was all going on… Honestly, very disappointing because I think we’re all here, we respect each other a lot and, of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life, in my career with people that have raced, and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard.”
He added: “And that for me… I lost all respect.”
Talking to the media, Verstappen also said: “He always acts extremely polite in front of the cameras but if you sit together with him personally, he’s a completely different person…. I truly can’t stand that. Then you might as well get lost. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Verstappen won the race, while Russell, in his Mercedes, finished fourth.
There was no comment from Russell, but some sources suggested that there was more to this story. Russell would be asked about this issue on the media day before the season-closing race in Abu Dhabi.
Source: BBC