‘Lost all respect’: Verstappen slams F1 rival amid secret ‘confrontation’

Max Verstappen has torn strips off an F1 rival in a blistering spray as details emerged about a fiery confrontation between the drivers.

Max Verstappen has slammed George Russell for his conduct in a stewards meeting after Verstappen was controversially stripped of pole position in Qatar.

Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEDT) ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri as he continues to put a stamp on the fourth title he clinched in Las Vegas last week.

The Dutchman started second on the grid in Qatar after being stripped of pole position with a rare penalty for an incident in qualifying.

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On Sunday officials investigated an incident during a Verstappen cool down lap where the world champion appeared to slow down more than was necessary as Russell was flying around the Losail Circuit in preparation for his final hot lap.

The Mercedes driver was clearly unhappy and said on his team’s radio it was “super dangerous from Verstappen”.

Russell was forced to take emergency action and ended up scraping his car over a gravel trap before darting sharply to overtake Verstappen on the other side of the track.

Replays also appeared to show Verstappen himself was being slowed down by a car ahead of him.

FIA Stewards, however, ruled Verstappen had opportunities to avoid blocking Russell. The penalty handed down was just a one-place grid penalty, something the sport hasn’t seen since 2016, and it elevated Russell to pole position.

Verstappen wasted no time getting revenge in the race, overtaking Russell at the first corner. Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, despite being handed a late time penalty, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz.

Max Verstappen was breathing fire in Qatar. (Photo by Mark Sutton/Getty Images)

The Red Bull star went on to win his ninth race of the season and without naming him, gave both Russell both barrels in a fiery post-race press conference, which you can watch in the video above.

“I was quite surprised when sitting there in the stewards room with what was all going on,” said Verstappen, reflecting on the stewards meeting after qualifying.

“Honestly, very disappointing, because I think we’re all here … we respect each other a lot and of course, 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.

“That for me, I lost all respect (for Russell).”

Speaking about the one-place grid penalty he copped in qualifying, Verstappen said: “Honestly I couldn’t believe that I got it, but in a way, I was also like I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in.

“So yeah, you’re not happy with it, but at one point also you have to just turn the page.

“But it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen because I think that’s the first time that in the slow lap, someone has been penalised.

“I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice. But I was being nice, because we are at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, especially for me, I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap.

Verstappen wasn’t happy with his qualifying penalty, but he got the last laugh. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

“And by doing that, you know, 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.

“I think I really spoke about valid reasons for what happened and 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, and I didn’t want to then cause a scene into the last corner. So, very, very surprising.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the penalty “wound up” Verstappen and unleashed the fire inside him.

“He was annoyed with George, the way things played out in front of the stewards yesterday,” Horner said.

“He was super motivated going into this race. He got an amazing start. He was going to be the only car that came out of Turn 1 in the lead.

Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz reported Verstappen confronted Russell before the pre-race drivers parade in Qatar.

“The rumour is that on the drivers’ parade holding room Max then confronted George, still seething, and said something along the lines of: ‘You and your FIA mates, I hope you’re happy with what you’ve done’,” Kravitz said.

Max was fuming after the penalty in qualifying. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

George Russell chats to Max Verstappen during the drivers parade. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

“I think the actual quote was rather ruder than that. That seems to be the confrontation that Christian Horner referred to.”

“I think there was a little bit of a moment between the two of them in the trailer as they go around the circuit,” Horner chuckled.

“Max, he felt things just went a little bit too far yesterday and he was so motivated coming into this race, more than usual.

“He was just a metronome, just lap after lap whilst looking after those tyres.”

Sky Sports’ Naomi Schiff said: “I think Max had a word with George and made the message very clear that he should watch his back.”

Host Simon Lazenby quipped: “They play padel don’t they? Not anymore. Off the respective Christmas card lists.”

Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins added: “The difficulty for Max, what he needs to get out of his head going into next year is that ‘them against us’ situation. He needs to not think everyone is against him and hopefully he can go forward.”

“To be honest I was expecting a crash, but ultimately we made it easy for him because both Lewis and I made a terrible start,” Russell said.

“It was a pretty simple overtake for him which was a bit frustrating for us.’

Russell said he had no issues with Verstappen.

“No, there’s no concerns,” he said.

“We know Max is a fighter and is aggressive. I expect no difference. I really wanted to go out there and fight with him today like we could have done in the sprint.

“But yesterday in the sprint, he was probably two or three tenths behind us. Today, we were two or three tenths behind him.

“It just goes to show what a night can do in this sport. It’s always on a knife’s edge. It’s a shame we didn’t have the pace when it mattered.”

Meanwhile, there was some drama as Esteban Ocon appeared to quit Alpine with one race left remaining in the season, handing Australia’s Jack Doohan his F1 debut sooner than expected.

The F1 season concludes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Monday, December 9.

Originally published as ‘Lost all respect’: Verstappen slams F1 rival amid secret ‘confrontation’