George Russell enraged Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. Verstappen lost pole position after a run-in with the Mercedes driver.
Neither driver was on a fast lap, but Russell caught Verstappen rapidly and took avoiding action as the crawling world champion tried to get out of the way. He complained over the radio that it was ‘super dangerous’.
Russell felt this compromised the flying lap that followed, but because this wasn’t textbook impeding, Verstappen received an unusual one-place penalty rather than three. It mattered little in the end.
The two drivers made similar getaways, but Verstappen came alive in the second phase of the start. He was fully alongside, if not ahead of, Russell on the approach to turn one.
The Briton tried to hold his ground on the outside, but that was never going to work against this particular opponent. In fact, all he did was open the door for Lando Norris to grab second.
Verstappen went on to win the race ahead of Charles Leclerc. Norris received a penalty for a yellow-flag infringement, while Russell was compromised by a seven-second pit-stop.
Max Verstappen swore at George Russell after Qatar Grand Prix penalty
It’s emerged that Verstappen angrily confronted Russell after they visited the stewards’ room late on Saturday night. The polesitter confirmed this before heading to the grid.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether Verstappen would be ‘extra fired up’ for the race, he replied: “I know he is! He’s already told me. It’s going to be an interesting turn one.”
Afterwards, Simon Lazenby shared further details of the altercation. Verstappen apparently told Russell exactly what he planned to do on the first lap, and stayed true to his word.
“I heard – rumour has it – that he actually told George that he was going to do that prior to the start of the race,” he said.
It’s unclear what his precise words were, but Lazenby’s colleague Naomi Schiff hinted that he swore at Russell. The two drivers were previously on good terms, but this could cause lasting damage to their relationship.
“I’m not going to repeat the words,” Schiff said. “I don’t know if the FIA will give me a fine if I repeat the words! I think Max had a word with George after they left the stewards’ room. I think he made the message very clear that he should watch his back.”
How Max Verstappen camp feels after discussing FIA swearing penalty with Mohammed Ben Sulayem
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Verstappen said he’d ‘lost all respect’ for Russell. This will create a particularly intriguing backdrop if they go head-to-head in 2025.
Russell has only had the car to win two races this year, which means he hasn’t been a factor in the title battle. But Mercedes are hopeful they can finally be a contender in the last year of the ruleset.
Verstappen wisely chose to keep his explicit comments off the record this time. He’s facing FIA community service for swearing in a press conference at the Singapore GP.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem held a meeting with Verstappen in Qatar. They discussed the penalty, which was a result of the FIA president’s clampdown, and the driver’s camp felt satisfied with a ‘mature’ conversation.
