F1: Max Verstappen vs. George Russell, crosses and threats
The crossing they experienced in qualifying for the Qatar GP left its mark and, already in Abu Dhabi, both drivers spoke about the situation they experienced.
Max Verstappen celebrated pole position for the Qatar GP, but three hours later, the FIA stewards decided to penalize him with one place for having blocked a lap from George Russell. The sanction was strange, because the judges determined that the Englishman was not in a flying lap and that is why the penalty was one grid and not three as the rule says. That is to say, they manipulated the regulations. However, the worst was yet to come: Cross statements and even threats between the four-time champion and the Mercedes driver.
Already installed in Abu Dhabi, where the last date of the 2024 World Cup will be held this weekend, the runners fired with thick ammunition. Verstappen startedwho complained about the attitude that Russell had during the meeting with the stewards on the Qatari track: “I still can’t believe that someone could be like that in the stewards’ room. For me it was unacceptable, because we are all racing drivers. We all respect each other a lot. We even do sports together, we travel together. And of course, you have moments when You crash, or whatever, and you’re not happy. In my entire career, I have never experienced what I experienced in the stewards’ room in Qatar. And for me, that was really unacceptable,” he said at a press conference in Yas Marina. In Losail, the four-time champion had a tough encounter with George, whom he faced on Saturday night in Qatar and repeated it before the parade. drivers on Sunday. “I don’t regret what I said at all, because I meant everything I said and it’s still the same. If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the result of the race.” .
Max assured that Russell lied to the stewards when explaining the maneuver. “I just never expected someone to so actively try to get a penalty for another driver and lie about why he was doing what he was doing. But it is clear that it influenced the commissioners. What happened there was not pleasant and really very shocking.”. Max explained, from his vision, what the maneuver was like in which he covered Russell: “Everyone started to go slower ahead, because there were quite a few cars, and I also got up because I don’t want to accelerate and ruin their preparation for their lap. Then I see someone flying in my rearview mirror, acting like he just went through the most dangerous situation and almost got killed or something. It was incredible and we’re all in a slow lap, there was no one in a fast lap. They came to that conclusion.”
In the other corner, the Mercedes driver claimed to have been threatened by Verstappen at that Qatari intersection. “On Saturday night he said he was going to go out of his way on purpose to hit me and, literally, he told me, ‘put my head against the wall.’ Questioning someone’s integrity as a person, while he says comments like that the day before, I find it very ironic, and I’m not going to sit here and accept it. People have been intimidated by Max for years, and his driving ability cannot be questioned. But he cannot cope with adversity whenever something has gone against him. “Those comments were totally disrespectful and unnecessary.”
To close, Lewis Hamilton’s teammate assured: “I have known him for 12 years. We have respected each other since before. We never had a crash…. but there is a guy who is at the top of this sport and who feels above the law. “I don’t think that’s right.”
