George Russell angered Max Verstappen in Qatar (Image: Getty)
’s outburst against was reportedly caused by how different the driver was in the FIA stewards’ room compared to in the media pen.
Russell was blocked by the recently crowned world champion during his warm-up lap ahead of the final runs in Q3, and after a trip to the stewards, Verstappen was hit with a rare one-place grid penalty, dropping him behind the man on the front row of the grid and stripping him of pole position.
This all counted for nothing on race day as Verstappen cleared Russell heading into Turn One, but the star was not in the mood to forget. After the race, he launched into an astonishing rant, accusing his rival of being two-faced and stating that he had lost all respect for the Brit.
According to De Telegraaf journalist Erik van Haren, the root of Verstappen’s frustrations boils down to Russell’s change in attitude from the media pen to the stewards’ room. The Dutchman perceived this to be a two-faced approach, and thus his respect for the driver deteriorated.
“I couldn’t believe that I got it,” Verstappen said in the press conference. “But in a way, I was also not surprised anymore in the world that I live in. I’m not happy with it, but at one point or another you have to just turn the page.”
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Verstappen ripped into Russell after the race (Image: Getty)
He went on to add: “Actually, I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice. I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, being nice, basically you get a penalty.
“And 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. It was clear-cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff, so they have to push anyway.
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“I didn’t want to then cause a scene into the last corner and for nobody to have a lap. I was quite surprised, when sitting there in the stewards’ room, what was all going on. It was honestly very disappointing because I think all of us here, we respect each other a lot.
“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. For me, I lost all respect.”