“I’ll Just…Pretend to Crash”- Livid Max Verstappen Lashes Out at F1’s Overreaction to Mercedes Star’s ‘Hairy’ Accusations

Max Verstappen is furious. Even though the Red Bull Racing driver has already won the World Championship, his hunger to succeed on the racetrack hasn’t diminished one bit. The 27-year-old racer showed lightning-fast pace at the Lusail Circuit in Qatar and finished first in qualifying for the first time since the Austrian GP. However, despite finishing 0.055 seconds ahead of George Russell, the Mercedes driver has been controversially awarded the pole position.

Naturally, the decision hasn’t gone down well with the four-time champion. With just two races remaining, Verstappen is eager to end a memorable season on a high but expressed his frustration at Formula 1’s verdict ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen perplexed by FIA’s verdict

Max Verstappen will be feeling hard done by. The Dutchman was subjected to a one-place grid penalty for driving slowly in front of George Russell’s Mercedes. Hoping to post a good time in Q3 of qualifying, the Red Bull Racing driver was on a slow lap when his British rival caught up with him and was forced to take evasive action in Turn 12. To avoid contact with the reigning champion, Russell applied the brakes which forced his wheel onto the gravel. Claiming that the incident was “super dangerous” on the team radio, the 26-year-old later theorized that it may have affected his qualifying lap.

However, Max Verstappen was shocked after being called to the officials. Claiming that he was simply reacting to the cars in front of him, the racing driver said, “We were all just driving slowly. I wouldn’t know what I could have done differently. The fact that I have to go [to the stewards’ office] is already very strange to me. Otherwise, next time I’ll just drive flat out too, and pretend to crash [into the other car]. He should have braked. I braked. Just like the cars in front of me. And I don’t want to screw them. I’m honestly a bit done with all of this at the end of the season.”

Verstappen wasn’t the only one defending his actions, with Red Bull Racing’s team principal Christian Horner also saying that everyone was “jockeying and pushing for position” during their out laps. However, the stewards weren’t buying into the explanations, and after hearing both sides of the story, reviewing telemetry data, team radio, and onboard footage, they decided to penalize the Dutch racing driver.

Typically, an incident such as this would result in a three-place grid penalty, but in this case, the stewards said it was a “complicated one” as neither driver was on the push lap. According to a document published by the FIA, the race officials explained their verdict, saying, “Car 1 (Max Verstappen) did not comply with the Race Director’s Event Notes and clearly was driving, in our determination, unnecessarily slowly considering the circumstances.” However, the decision worked out well for George Russell, who defended his actions during qualifying.

George Russell blames Verstappen for the qualifying outcome

George Russell is having quite a year, isn’t he? The 26-year-old is in his third full season with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and has cemented his place with the Silver Arrows. Few would have thought that the driver could outperform seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, but he has proved his doubters wrong on several occasions in 2024. With victories in Austria and Las Vegas, momentum is on his side going into the penultimate race in Qatar, and starting on the pole will give him quite an advantage at the Lusail Circuit.

Reflecting on the incident with Max Verstappen during qualifying, Russell said, “I ended up going through the gravel all over the floor, so it felt like the floor was scraping over that curb and through the gravel so I hope it didn’t damage it. Maybe that’s the reason we didn’t improve – I don’t know, but it was a bit of a hairy one, two corners before we started the lap.” Whether going through the gravel made the difference in the Mercedes driver finishing 0.055 seconds slower is unclear, but it’s a narrative the British racing driver will stick to.

George Russell hasn’t finished higher than fourth in his two appearances at the Lusail Circuit. However, with Hamilton departing for Scuderia Ferrari in 2025, the 26-year-old is prepared to take the mantle as Mercedes’ top driver ahead of next season. He will be eager to prove himself before the season concludes, and what better way than to secure back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Qatar? However, last year’s Qatar GP winner Max Verstappen will give it everything he’s got, especially after feeling cheated by the FIA after their qualifying verdict.