After Russell, stewards also have to pull the wool over Verstappen's eyes in Baku
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General
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen had indicated, before the sprint race, that he would not go all out to win on Saturday afternoon. After all, the risk of damage (with huge consequences) was more significant than gaining one or two extra points. However, in the sprint race today, contact between the Dutchman and George Russell occurred, leaving a complete hole in the RB19's sidepod. Consequently, Verstappen was far from happy with the whole situation.
Discussion between Max and George
Already in the race, it became clear that Verstappen was frustrated by Russell's action. Gianpiero Lambiase and the Dutchman himself made that clear over their radio. Immediately after the end of the sprint race, the World Championship leader went to see what his British competitor would say regarding the incident. In the process, he even called Russell a 'dickhead'. The Mercedes driver explained what happened, but Verstappen thought it 'didn't make sense'.
Russell argued Verstappen himself took the risk of staying on the outside. At the press conference, where GPblog was present, the 25-year-old Dutchman responded to those words. "And that is not allowed because Princess George is sitting there?" Verstappen lost some seven-tenths due to the damage to his RB19.
Verstappen tells his story
Over at Viaplay, Verstappen also addressed the incident. "We went around the outside because we could. When you're on the inside, you have to be a bit more careful when someone goes around the outside, especially on a street circuit. I think I did give him enough space, otherwise he will hang on the wall on the inside. That was not the case. He pushes me into the wall at turn two, and therefore I lose momentum and he has the position. That is not fair."
The Dutch driver also criticised race management after the sprint race. "Very strange that the stewards don't even look at that when I also have damage to the car," said Verstappen, who cannot do much with Russell's explanation about his part in the crash. "He always has very nice... the way those Englishmen can explain it all."
Verstappen scored six points for the world championship, but he is convinced a better result than a P3 would have been in it if there was no collision. "It's just a shame. And why? It's totally unnecessary to take that kind of risk."