Max Verstappen joked he will act like he is going to crash into everyone on cool laps now after Qatar, but was very serious in his fresh verbal attack on George Russell.

Verstappen was given a strange one-place grid penalty in Qatar – which effectively flipped he and Russell to put the latter on pole – after Russell had taken evasive action upon encountering the slower-moving Red Bull. Both were on preparation laps for their final Q3 efforts, but Verstappen would be given the penalty for driving too slowly.

Max Verstappen does not regret grilling ‘lying’ George Russell

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

It is safe to say Verstappen was far from pleased with Russell’s actions, claiming he had “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver, with Verstappen reportedly confronting Russell ahead of the Qatar drivers’ parade to vent his frustrations to his face.

And as Formula 1 arrives in Abu Dhabi for the final race weekend of F1 2024, Verstappen has not softened his stance.

Asked by the media, including PlanetF1.com, whether he worries that one-place grid drop will set a precedent, Verstappen quipped: “Yeah, I’m gonna go flat out on my cool lap, and I’m gonna act like I’m gonna crash with everyone.

“Honestly, I just didn’t understand, like I didn’t even know why I was in there and honestly, when I was in there, I was trying to explain the story behind it.

“I was just trying to be nice. Lando [Norris] passed me because he was a second behind me on the SC2 [second safety car line]. He was on colder tyres because he only did a build, or he had to abort his lap or whatever. So he passed. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever. I’ll just back out. I don’t want to be in anyone’s way’. We are anyway in Q3, just finding track position.

“Then I think Fernando [Alonso] came out of the pits with new tyres, and I think it was quite clear that with the new tyres, you have to push quite hard on the out-lap to get temp. So out of Turn 10, I see him in the mirror, flying, ‘Okay, I’ll let him by, whatever’.

“And then I just, you know, sort myself out, then, of course, everything slowed up in front, because there were quite a few cars, and I slow down as well, because I don’t want to then speed up, try to ruin their preparation as well.

“Then I see someone [Russell] flying in my mirror, acting like the most dangerous situation just happened, and he almost killed himself or something. It was unbelievable.

“And we were all on a slow lap. It’s not even like someone was on a fast lap. So yeah, when I got called to the stewards, it was a big surprise to me, because I didn’t really impede anyone.

“I think also on a slow lap, we all drive on our normal lines, you know, because we’re all trying not to pick up dirt anyway. It’s not necessary when everyone’s driving slow.

“But then, yeah, I don’t know how they came, of course, to that conclusion. It was, of course, for me, very disappointing, because basically, by actually trying to stay out of trouble, you put yourself in trouble.

“And also, I think at that point of the season, it was the end of the season, I don’t want to be fighting with anyone, they come after me, after qualifying, ‘Why did you ruin my lap to start my lap? What are you doing?’ So, I don’t want to put myself in that position.

“But basically, by doing that, I put myself in that position where I had to be going to the stewards. And I felt straight away when I was in there, it was not going to go anywhere. So it’s very weird.”

Verstappen ultimately won the Qatar Grand Prix with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri joining him on the podium, and was asked whether he has any regrets about his harsh words sent Russell’s way? The answer was quite clear.

“No, no regrets at all!” Verstappen emphasised. “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 outcome of the race results.

“So I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in the stewards room. For me, that was so unacceptable.

“Because, I mean, we’re all racing drivers. We all have a lot of respect for each other. We even, you know, play sports together. You travel together. Of course, you have moments where you get together, you crash, or whatever, you’re not happy.

“In my whole career, I’ve never experienced what I have experienced in the stewards room in Qatar, and for me, that was really unacceptable.”

Asked if his anger towards Russell was influenced by the fact the Brit is director of the GPDA, Verstappen replied: “No, it’s nothing to do with him being a director of the the GPDA.

“Just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about why I was doing what I was doing.

“But, clearly it had an influence to them.

“Yeah, it was just really not nice and actually very shocking what was going on.”