Max Verstappen laid into George Russell after the Qatar Grand Prix (Image: Getty Images)
Jenson Button has picked sides on the controversial decision to which led ’s brutal attack on . After winning Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen launched into an saying he had lost all respect for the driver.
Meanwhile, Russell said he feared the world champion would crash into him at the start of the race. Verstappen’s fury revolved around an incident which saw him lose pole position, which subsequently went to Russell.
After both drivers were called to the stewards’ room after qualifying, it was deemed that Verstappen had impeded Russell as both men prepared for quick laps in Q3 and was handed a one-place grid penalty. While Verstappen’s rage was aimed at Russell, former world champion Button has slammed the FIA for the penalty which caused the row.
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Addressing the incident on Sky Sports, which also involved Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Button called the decision “shocking”. He said: “The problem for me is that he’s [Verstappen] got Fernando Alonso in front of him doing exactly the same speed.
“It’s not like Max has just gone, ‘you know what? I’m going to put the anchors on and hit the brakes right in the middle of a high-speed corner’.
“He’s got the same distance to the car in front the whole way through Turn 12, 13. It’s shocking to me that he got a penalty, it really is. It felt like it should have been the same as everyone else.”
Jenson Button has given his verdict on the incident which saw Max Verstappen stripped of pole (Image: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Verstappen overtook Russell at the start and went on to claim his ninth win of the season. After the race, Verstappen said of his British rival: “You know what it is? He [Russell] always acts very nice here in front of the cameras, but when you are in there [in the stewards’ room] he is just a completely different person.
“I can’t stand that. Then it’s better to just f*** off, because I don’t have to deal with it. 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 in my career with people that I’ve raced. And I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard.
Max Verstappen was furious after losing pole position in Qatar (Image: Getty)
“For me, I lost all respect. I just thought it was ridiculous how he tried to force a penalty on me and I was heavily p****d at him for that.”
With the pair after their stewards meetings, Russell admitted he feared a first-corner pile-up. Speaking after finishing fourth, he said: “To be honest, I was expecting a crash, but ultimately we made it easy for him.”
He added that he had “no concerns” about his relationship with Verstappen, saying: “We know Max is a fighter and is aggressive, I expect no different, and I really wanted to go out there and fight with him today.”