Verstappen “lost all respect” for Russell “trying to screw me over” with penalty · RaceFans

Max Verstappen slated George Russell over his rival’s remarks in yesterday’s meeting with the stewards which led to the Red Bull driver receiving a penalty.

The stewards handed Verstappen a one-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly in qualifying after Russell swerved to avoid the Red Bull and accused him on his radio of “dangerous” driving. Russell benefited from the penalty, taking pole position for today’s race.

Verstappen, who passed Russell at the start and went on to win today’s race, was unimpressed by his rival’s statements in the meeting.

“I was quite surprised when sitting there in the stewards room what was all going on,” said Verstappen. “Honestly, it was very disappointing, because I think we all here, we respect each other a lot. And of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and my career with people that I’ve raced and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. And that’s, for me, I lost all respect.”

The Red Bull driver said he “couldn’t believe” he was penalised for the incident, which occured as the pair were preparing to begin their final flying laps in qualifying. “But in a way, I’m also not surprised any more in the world that I live in.

“So you’re not happy with it, but at one point also you have to just turn the page. But it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen.”

Verstappen insisted he was trying to ensure all drivers had a chance to set a time. “I think that’s the first time that [during] a slow lap someone has been penalised,” he said. “When, actually, I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice.

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“But the thing is that we are being nice because at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, for me especially. I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, being nice, basically you get a penalty.

“That’s what I tried to explain, as well, but I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall, so there’s not much that was possible, for whatever reason. I think I really spoke about valid reasons of what happened.

“It was clear cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff, so they had to push anyway. I didn’t want to then cause a scene into the last corner and then no one had a lap. So very surprising.”

Verstappen has had harsh words for his rival in the past. The pair clashed in the sprint race at Baku last year, after which Verstappen called his rival a “dickhead.”

This article will be updated