F1 News: Max Verstappen 'Lost Respect' For George Russell In Qatar - 'Get The Hell Out Of Here'

Max Verstappen declared he lost respect for George Russell after a qualifying incident at the Qatar Grand Prix resulted in a grid penalty.

Nov 20, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during media availabilities at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Max Verstappen has hit out at Mercedes driver George Russell after the Stewards meeting yesterday which ended in the former losing his pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix.

Whilst speaking to the media, the Red Bull driver, who went on to clinch the victory anyway, commented (translated by X):

“The way he acted was completely ridiculous. I have respect for everyone, but I lost it with him. I thought it was ridiculous how he wanted to give me a penalty. I was also quite angry with him about that.

"He's very neat in front of the camera, but off camera he's a completely different person. I can't stand that, you might as well get the hell out of here. I don't want anything to do with that."

“Voor de camera is hij heel netjes, maar daarbuiten is hij een heel ander persoon. Daar kan ik niet tegen, dan kun je maar beter oprotten. Daar wil ik niets mee te maken hebben.”

— Joost Nederpelt (@JoostNederpelt) December 1, 2024

Verstappen added:

"I've been to the stewards many times. I've never seen a driver try so hard to screw another driver."

Verstappen in de persco, over Russell: "Ik ben vaak bij de stewards geweest. Ik heb nog nooit gezien dat een coureur een andere coureur zo hard probeerde te naaien." #F1

— Joost Nederpelt (@JoostNederpelt) December 1, 2024

The stewards conducted a detailed evaluation of the incident, considering evidence from telemetry data, multiple camera angles, and in-car video footage. While typical moves of this nature warrant a three-place grid penalty, Verstappen was spared the harsher sentence and instead incurred a one-place grid penalty as neither driver was on a push lap.

The Stewards noted:

"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), the driver of Car 63 (George Russell), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.

"Car 1 was on a different preparation strategy to that of Car 63. Car 1 was well outside of the delta and the driver of Car 1 explained he had let Cars 4 and 14 past. The driver of Car 63 claimed that he had adhered to the delta and did not expect Car 1 to be on the racing line. He stated that if a car was going slow in a high-speed corner, it should not be on the racing line.

"The Stewards regard this case as a complicated one in that clearly Car 1 did not comply with the Race Director’s Event Notes and clearly was driving, in our determination, unnecessarily slowly considering the circumstances.

"It was obvious the driver of Car 1 was attempting to cool his tyres. He also could see Car 63 approaching as he looked in his mirror multiple times whilst on the small straight between Turns 11 and 12."

2024 Qatar Grand Prix Results

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10. Lando Norris, McLaren
11. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
12. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
13. Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB
14. Liam Lawson, VCARB
15. Alex Albon, Williams
16. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas - DNF
17. Sergio Perez, Red Bull - DNF
18. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin - DNF
19. Franco Colapinto, Williams - DNF
20. Esteban Ocon, Alpine - DNF