The Qatar Grand Prix left behind tensions not only related to what happened on track but also other incidents. One of these was the altercation between Max Verstappen and George Russell following a disagreement over what occurred during Saturday’s qualifying and the meeting with the stewards regarding a potential penalty.
Verstappen had been summoned by the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly while Russell was approaching from behind, forcing the latter to take evasive action to avoid contact.
The two drivers had differing views on the incident, with Verstappen expressing surprise and astonishment at the penalty, especially since it involved a situation during an out-lap with multiple cars driving faster to warm up their tires. However, beyond the penalty, what really upset the Dutchman was the attitude of the Mercedes driver, who allegedly pushed during the stewards’ meeting for him to be penalized.
“I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and career with people I’ve raced against. And I’ve never seen anyone try to screw someone over so hard [as Russell did]. I’ve lost all respect for him,” Verstappen said, noting that it is unusual to assign a penalty for an incident during an out-lap.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Russell responded to the four-time champion’s remarks, calling his attitude ironic, given that Verstappen had allegedly said on Saturday evening after qualifying that he would do everything possible to make contact with the Briton.
“I find it all quite ironic, considering that on Saturday evening, he said he would deliberately do everything to crash into me and, I quote, ‘smash my f***ing head against the wall.’ So questioning someone’s integrity as a person, while having made such comments the day before, is very ironic, and I won’t stand for it,” said Russell, irritated by Max Verstappen’s post-race comments on Sunday evening.
The Briton then expressed his opinion on the Red Bull driver’s behavior, emphasizing that while it is normal to fight hard to achieve the best, Max Verstappen has gone overboard, as he has in the past. Russell specifically referred to the 2021 title battle.
“People have been bullied by Max for years. You can’t question his skills behind the wheel, but he can’t handle adversity every time something goes against him. Episodes like Jeddah and Brazil 2021 show that he lashes out. This year in Budapest, in the first race where the car wasn’t dominant, he made contact with Lewis and disrespected his team.”
“To me, those comments on Saturday evening and Sunday were completely disrespectful and unnecessary. You fight hard, that’s part of the game, both on track and in the stewards’ room, but it’s never personal. Now he’s going too far,” said the Briton, before pointing out that Verstappen had also pushed on the radio during the race to report Norris for not respecting double yellow flags—a tactic that Russell believes is part of the game.
Russell said he has no interest in arguing with Max Verstappen, as it’s an issue the Dutch driver should address himself. However, he expressed surprise that other drivers haven’t spoken out about these incidents before.
“I don’t understand why other drivers, when battling him, have made things so easy and let it slide. Lewis is a world champion I aspire to resemble, and I think he’s a role model younger drivers should look up to.”
“The way Lewis approached that championship was aggressive but always respectful and never went beyond the limit. You can go beyond the limit due to a small miscalculation, but going out of your way and saying you want to deliberately crash into someone and smash their head is beyond the limit.”
When asked why he decided to speak out now, George Russell said it stemmed more from Max Verstappen’s reaction and the fact that the episode became public through the media, disrespecting him.
“Because it came out in the media. I feel he disrespected me as a driver. I’ve known him for 12 years. We’ve always respected each other. We’ve never had clashes… But there’s a man at the top of this sport who feels above the law. I don’t think that’s right,” added Russell.
“I admire his battles on track when he’s tough and aggressive. But what we saw at the end of the 2021 season or in Mexico with Lando [Norris] were not hard and aggressive moves. They were ‘all or nothing’ or ‘I’m willing to take this guy out.’ I don’t think that’s the way to race.”
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