A ‘p***ed off’ Max Verstappen snapped at reporters and claimed more talk of a potential Formula 1 race ban is a ‘waste of time’ after he qualified second behind George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.
In a fiery press conference in Montreal, Verstappen was in no mood for conversation and risked the wrath of the FIA’s no-swearing rules once again.
As F1’s Tom Clarkson began a question about Verstappen’s penalty points and rivalry with Russell, the world champion interrupted to insist: ‘I don’t need to hear it again.’
He then added: It’s really p***ing me off. You [the media] speaking about it on Thursday, it’s such a waste of time. It’s childish. It’s really annoying this world that we live in.’
Verstappen currently has 11 penalty points on his licence, one away from a race ban, after he tangled with Russell last time out in Spain and was demoted from P5 at the flag to P10.
Max Verstappen snapped back at F1’s Tom Clarkson amid more talk of a potential race ban
Verstappen was in no mood to talk about his rivalry with George Russell as the pair sat together
The looming possibility of a one-race suspension has seen Verstappen field questions all week about his driving style, and he reached breaking point after qualifying on Saturday.
Russell, meanwhile, had stuck the boot in to his rival on TV after jumping out of the car, joking that he ‘has a few more points on his licence to play with’ heading into Sunday’s race.
Sitting alongside the Red Bull star in the press conference a few minutes later, though, Russell was more mellow and insisted: ‘I don’t think any driver goes out looking to crash into another driver and get penalty points on their licence.
‘Max is one of the best drivers out there, and there is no reason to race me differently.
‘I am not sitting here thinking he will give me more room but possibly the opposite to prove a point so I will keep an eye on that. We are here to win and we will not do something which jeopardises the race.’
The prospect of Mercedes’ No 1 driver lining up alongside Verstappen at the front of the grid on Sunday is a mouthwatering prospect for F1 fans.
While they appear to have kissed and made up after their Spanish tangle, it would be no surprise to see them clash again in Montreal, after Russell has repeatedly reignited the war of words off track.
Verstappen (R) and Russell clashed last week in Spain and will line up one and two in Canada
At Thursday’s media day in Montreal, the Mercedes man claimed Verstappen tried to ‘scare’ him but failed when they collided, and added that the Dutchman would deserve a ban if tried it again.
‘I think he was trying to run me off the road, but I don’t believe he was trying intentionally to crash into me. I think he wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it.
‘It wasn’t going to scare me. It was just all a bit surprising.’
In the championship standings, Verstappen sits third behind the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, with Russell fourth and hunting him down.
