Max Verstappen has ‘lost all respect’ for George Russell over grid penalty

Verstappen was stripped of pole position in the early hours of Sunday morning after the stewards said he impeded Russell as both men geared up for their hot laps in the final phase of qualifying.

The sanction elevated Russell to pole.

The PA news agency understands the British driver offered a fist bump to Verstappen in the holding pen ahead of the drivers’ parade which takes place 90 minutes before the race.

However, the Dutchman deliberately ignored Russell’s gesture before staring the Mercedes man down in full view of the other drivers.

Verstappen then beat Russell into the opening bend to take control of the race before leading every lap to claim his first win in the dry in nearly six months, and eight days after he wrapped up his fourth successive championship in Las Vegas.

But in the moments after his victory, Verstappen took aim at Russell.

Verstappen said: “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. 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.”

As Verstappen drove back to the pits, Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase said: “Karma is a beautiful thing, mate. You definitely did not drive unnecessarily slowly today.”

Verstappen and Russell clashed in Azerbaijan last year. Verstappen called Russell a “d***head” and subsequently a “princess”.

Reflecting on his grid penalty, Verstappen continued: “I couldn’t believe that I got it. 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.

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

“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.”