Verstappen 'lost all respect' for Russell after losing pole position in Qatar

Although he had won his ninth victory of the season, the first on a dry track since Spain last June, Max Verstappen was still very upset after the Qatar Grand Prix. The reason for this vexation? His pole position lost in Losail. A few hours after qualifying, the Dutchman was found guilty of driving unnecessarily slowly during Q3, with the stewards finding that in doing so he had obstructed George Russell while the latter was on a warm-up lap. Penalised with a grid penalty – the smallest penalty awarded since 2016 – Max Verstappen was therefore forced to start second, on the dirty side of the track, behind… George Russell, who had then inherited pole position.

This second place on the grid did not prevent the now four-time world champion from taking the lead from the start and leading the race from start to finish. In press conference, despite the joy of a new victory in 2024, Max Verstappen returned to the episode of the lost pole position with as much annoyance as ever. "I couldn't believe I got it. But in a way, I also thought, 'It doesn't surprise me anymore, in the world I live in.'", said the winner of the day after the race.

« It was ridiculous that he wanted me to be penalized."

“I didn’t want to disturb anyone to prepare their lap. And by doing that, even being nice, you get a penalty. And that’s what I tried to explain [to the stewards] too but I felt like I was talking to a brick wall… I was quite surprised to see what was happening in the stewards’ room, he added, before attacking George Russell directly.. I've been in this room many times in my life, in my career, with people who have driven and I've never seen [a driver] try to turn someone upside down with such determination. And that, to me... I lost all respect [for George Russell]."

A frustration that was still palpable at the microphone of Viaplay, where Max Verstappen did not mince his words about George Russell's hypocrisy and his attitude in private. “The other driver, during the meeting with the stewards, it didn’t make any sense to me… I respect a lot of drivers, but yesterday I completely lost my respect for him. It was ridiculous that he wanted me to be penalized. I was very upset about it. (…) [Russell] always behaves very well in front of the camera, but when you're with him, he's a different person," he said the pilot Red Bull, not really inclined to start a dialogue with the Briton to calm things down.

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