06 October 2023 , 17:19
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Max Verstappen showed his disapproval at George Russell in a critical radio message during Qatar Grand Prix qualifying.
The Red Bull racer was impeded on his first flying lap of Friday's session. While he had his foot down, he came across a Mercedes and a Ferrari car on track who were going much more slowly.
The Ferrari managed to get out of the way fairly quickly. But Russell earned the wrath of Verstappen as the Dutchman felt he needed to slow down and abort his lap to avoid risking a collision.
"Nice," he said over the radio with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. He then asked race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase which of the Mercedes drivers it was who had got in his way.
Lambiase did not specify but replied: "No idea what those two were doing. You can be slightly more courteous to him please, Max. Don't tow him down into Turn 1."
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Verstappen clearly wanted to add to his initial complaint as he made it clear he was very unimpressed with Russell's placement on the track. "What an idiot," he said of the Brit.
It made little difference to the Red Bull racer as he easily secured safe passage beyond Q1. And this weekend as a whole is set to be a major milestone in his F1 career as only three points are needed for the Dutchman to make his third world title mathematically secure.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's action, Russell paid tribute to the job Verstappen has done this season to dominate the grid. But, given the lack of competition for Red Bull in 2023, the Brit feels his rival will not have taken a great deal of satisfaction from his success.
"When it comes to any great in any sport, if the pressure is not turned up, you are in for a comfortable ride," he told the Press Association. " And I am sure the 2021 championship fight was more satisfying for him because it was a true battle. He has been exceptional this year, and there is no doubt about that. Week after week, he has performed at such a high level.
"But we see the strategy review before every race, and the prediction every weekend, is of him going off into the distance. He can drive at 90 per cent and still win with 10 seconds to spare, and he knows that."