28 July 2023 , 16:12
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Max Verstappen and his Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase came to verbal blows after the Dutchman narrowly survived an embarrassing exit in Belgium Grand Prix qualifying.
The reigning world champion finished 10th in the pack in Q2 but still managed to scrape through to the Q3 shootout. He let his frustration get the better of him over the team radio as he said: "I should have just f***ing pushed two laps in a row, like I said."
Lambiase, Verstappen's trusted race engineer, responded: "But you are through, Max?", to which Verstappen then fired back with an expletive-ridden rant: "Yeah mate but I don't give a f*** if I'm through in P10. It's s*** execution."
"Okay then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap, you didn't have any energy left," Lambiase added. "How would that have come down? Tell me what you want to do for Q3 and we'll do it."
It was a frustrating session for Verstappen as he only just scraped into Q3 ahead of Sunday's race. He finished behind Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, whilst Oscar Piastri topped the standings in that middle part of the session.
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Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen had the chance to knock out the championship leader. But they both failed to make the top 10, with Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon the others to fail to progress.
Even before the session, Verstappen knew that he was in for a testing time of things. He was handed a five-place grid penalty having taken an extra gearbox.
Max Verstappen only just managed to reach Q3 in Belgium (Getty Images)Who do you think will win the Belgian Grand Prix? Share your predictions in the comments below
It all means that the Championship leader is set to start Sunday's race at Spa down in sixth. He went quickest overall in Q3 but, because of his grid drop, Charles Leclerc inherited pole position.
Heavy rain had also initially threatened to derail qualifying on Friday. But the clouds parted and sunshine began beating down just in time for the start of the session, giving fans the show they turned out to see. Verstappen's spat with Lambiase wasn't the only tense showdown at Spa on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell progressed comfortably from Q1 despite a complaint from the latter, who told his team-mate to "put his foot down" in a message over the radio. The seven-time world champion responded to that request perfectly by setting the fastest time of that first part of the session.
Following three sessions of qualifying, Ferrari's Leclerc will start the Belgian Grand Prix on pole position as he hunts down his first race win of the current season. He finished seventh at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having qualified in sixth.
Verstappen claimed victory at Hungaroring after starting second in the grid. He has won the last seven races and last failed to secure a podium position during last season's Brazilian Grand Prix.