Max Verstappen torched George Russell after the Qatar race: “he can go fuck himself, I’ve lost all respect for him” thus launched the Red Bull driver to the director of the GPDA.
The reason? The Mercedes F1 driver complained to the stewards after qualifying that he had been hampered by George Russell on a slow lap. An attitude that Max Verstappen did not digest and which earned him a penalty of one place on the grid, therefore losing his pole.
Russell described this situation as “super dangerous” on the team radio, but Verstappen claimed that the Briton had given a double speech, one in front of the press, the other in front of the stewards.
Reacting to this prank between two important drivers on the grid, Christian Horner, the boss of Milton Keynes, of course defended the Dutchman; but is he also determined to calm things down?
“Let’s just say he wasn’t happy with the decision!” »
“It was a very strange decision, because in the circumstances of Saturday, both cars were on a slow lap, and I really felt that George and Mercedes exaggerated the importance of it. »
“It was unprecedented that a slow lap led to a one-place penalty for Max. But he turned that start from the dirty side of the grid into one of his best starts of the year, and he was determined to brake later than George at all times. He converted this grid position into the lead at the end of the first corner. »
“Max, I think he was disappointed,” Horner continued.
“Objectively, you could say that maybe George was going a little too fast on a slow lap with two slow cars in front of him. So maybe he was driving recklessly. »
“It was frustrating to receive that penalty, but it motivated him even more to win this race, and I think it increased his enthusiasm to get off to a good start. »
Max Verstappen reiterated again, after this penalty, that he had “the wrong passport” : implied, George Russell, who is British, is protected by his nationality.
Christian Horner does not comment on this, and instead tackles “hysteria” de George Russell !
“I think Saturday's penalty was more down to George's hysteria, who was quite hysterical this weekend. I think there was a bit of strategy on his part in all this. »
Russell expected crash with Max Verstappen
For his part, George Russell of course defends his piece of fat.
The Mercedes F1 driver recalls Max Verstappen's reputation for being an aggressive driver… to the point that he expected the Red Bull to almost crash into him at the first corner, in Qatar!
“Yes, honestly, I expected an accident with him. »
“But in the end we made it easier for him because Lewis [Hamilton] and I both got off to a bad start. »
“So it was a pretty easy overtake for Max, which was a little frustrating for us. We know Max is a fighter and he's aggressive. I expect nothing less. »
“I really wanted to go out there and fight with him or Lando like we did in the Sprint. But in the Sprint he was probably two or three tenths behind us. In the race, we were two or three tenths behind them. »
“It shows how much this sport can change overnight. Everything was fine on Friday, Saturday was a great day. We had no pace in the race…”
