When Max Verstappen spoke out after winning Sunday’s tumultuous Qatar Grand Prix, he made it obvious how he felt about George Russell’s conduct, which resulted in him losing the pole position. The recently minted four-time world champion said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the Mercedes driver’s effort to punish him following an incident during qualifying at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday. “I have been in there many times, of certainly, but I have never before seen everyone trying to screw someone else over that hard.”
Verstappen told reporters after winning Sunday’s race that he was trying “to be nice” by slowing down on his lap in qualifying and did nothing to upset Russell. The two had had a nice relationship until this episode, which Verstappen stated had changed his opinion.
“I was just trying to be nice and maybe that might not have been the way to be,” replied the man. “But I am not at all shocked by things anymore in this business.”
As a result of his protest, a stewards investigation was conducted, and Verstappen was deprived of his pole position, his one-place drop giving his adversary his career-high fifth pole position.
However, the Mercedes driver was unable to capitalize on his starting position when a motivated Verstappen made a scorching start and roared to a classic faultless victory. Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, mentioned the stewards’ verdict and punishment during Verstappen’s slow-down lap after winning.
“Karma is a wonderful thing,” he explained. “You surely did not drive too slowly today. Great job.” The Dutch driver answered by complimenting the Red Bull team.