Horner claims Russell is 'hysterical' after row with Verstappen

The team leader Red Bull, Christian Horner, accused George Russell of being “hysterical” during the Qatar Grand Prix weekend after a discussion with Max Verstappen. Four-time champion revealed after victory at Losail International Circuit what was there “lost all respect” for the pilot Mercedes, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA). In addition, suggested that the British were two-faced after being penalized for driving unnecessarily slow during an incident with him during Saturday's qualifying.

Russell was favored by the sanction of a place on the starting grid for the Dutchmanwho believes that English made the most of the situation both on the track and in the stewards' room. However, Verstappen finally took advantage of a poor start from the winner of the previous Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday to take the lead and finally clinch victory.

This is not the first time that the two drivers have been involved in controversy, as Verstappen ended up getting irritated by a move from Russell on the first lap of last year's Azerbaijan GP sprint racefor which he confronted him in parc ferme.

Asked if the defending champion was upset by the decision to lose him the pole, Horner replied: “Let's just say he wasn't happy with the decision. It was a very strange decision because obviously in the circumstances of qualifying both drivers were driving slow laps.and it seemed to me that George and Mercedes [sacaron demasiado partido] of this.”

“It was unprecedented that, on a slow lap, Max found himself with a one-place penalty. But on the dirtier side of the grid, he had one of his best starts of the year, and He was absolutely determined that wherever George braked, he would do it later.. And he transformed that grid position into the lead after the first corner. »

Thus, it is understood that Verstappen and Russell had an exchange of words before the start of Sunday's race, and with emotions running high, Horner was asked if he was concerned that tensions could arise on the track.

“I think Max was disappointed by it,” he said. “I mean, if you look at things objectively, You could argue that George was perhaps driving too fast on a slow lap, with two slow cars in front of him. So maybe I was driving recklessly. You know, it was frustrating to get that penalty. But yeah, he was already motivated to win this race, and I think that just increased his enthusiasm to do well.”

Verstappen has spoken openly about the sanctions he received during the current campaign, accusing stewards of showing bias towards British driversby suggesting that he does not have the right passport for the paddock.

When asked if this sanction was one more case that supported this theory, Horner insisted: “No, look, I think the punishment was based more on George's hysteria, who was pretty hysterical this weekend. But, you know, unfortunately… I think there was a little bit of play in there.“, he concluded.