Poisonous statements from Max Verstappen after the Qatar race, aimed at George Russell.
Max Verstappen claimed his ninth victory of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix yesterday, his first as a four-time world champion. The Dutchman had also secured pole position on Saturday, which was later taken away due to a risky maneuver on the in-lap that blocked Russell.
The feud between the two seemed to be over, but Verstappen dropped a bombshell after the race, speaking in this way about the Mercedes driver, George Russell. Here are Max’s words: “Yesterday’s penalty is ridiculous. If this is supposed to set a precedent for the FIA, then we won’t even know what we can do during a slow lap anymore. I couldn’t believe I got the penalty, but at the same time, I wasn’t even surprised.
I wasn’t happy about it, but it happened. I think it’s the first time someone has been penalized during a slow lap. On the other hand, I tried to be nice, maybe I shouldn’t have. In the end, the championship is decided, at least for me, I didn’t want to hurt anyone, not even in the preparation of the lap.
Verstappen then added: “I tried to explain my reasons, but it was like talking to a wall. I had valid reasons to explain what happened, but there were people around me in different situations, drivers with cold tires and others, who had to push, but I didn’t want to cause any damage, and no one was in the timed lap. We are at the end of the season, I didn’t want to block anyone or annoy anyone, it wasn’t worth fighting at that moment, that’s why I was stunned.
I was very surprised in the stewards’ room. Honestly, I’m very disappointed because we’re all here, we all respect each other, and I’ve been in that room many times in my career, and I’ve never seen anyone try to discredit another driver like that. And after this… I lost all my respect for him. He’s always so polite in front of the cameras, but off-camera, he’s a completely different person. I don’t want to deal with him anymore.”
Photo: X F1