Max Verstappen has told George Russell to “f*** off” after the pair clashed in the stewards’ room after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen qualified on pole but after a lengthy deliberation involving both drivers, the stewards gave the 2024 F1 world champion a one-place grid penalty for impeding Russell on a warm-up lap in the final phase of qualifying.
It meant Russell started on pole position and even though Verstappen eventually won the race comfortably, with Mercedes driver Russell finishing fourth, the Dutchman was livid and accused the British driver of trying to “screw him over hard” in the stewards room.
“I have a lot of respect for a lot of drivers, but after last night I completely lost that respect for him [Russell],” Verstappen told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay.
“I just thought it was ridiculous how he tried to force a penalty on me. And I was heavily pissed at him for that.’”
“He always does it very nicely here in front of the camera, but then when you’re inside with him in person, it’s just a different person,” he added.
“I can’t stand that and it’s actually better for him to f*** off. I don’t want to get involved in this.”
Verstappen elaborated further in the official FIA press conference when asked about the incident.
“It wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen. The thing is being nice, everything is more or less decided, I didn’t want to screw anyone over and by doing that, being nice, you get a penalty,” he said.
“That’s what I tried to explain but it felt like talking to a brick wall. I spoke about valid reasons. I didn’t want to cause a scene into that last corner, [it was] very surprising.
“I was quite surprised with what was going on, very disappointing. And I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life with people I’ve raced – and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard.
“I lost all respect.”
Verstappen also reportedly confronted Russell during the pre-race drivers parade at the Lusail International Circuit.
The Dutchman overtook Russell at the start of the race, while the Brit dropped back after a slow pit-stop.
