Max Verstappen says he ‘lost all respect’ for George Russell after stewards’ hearing in Qatar over qualifying incident

Speaking in the post-race press conference following his victory, Verstappen was asked for his reaction to the penalty he received, to which he responded: “I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way, I was also like, yeah, I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in.

“You’re not happy with it, but at one point also you have to just turn the page. But, yeah, it wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen, because I think that’s the first time that in a slow lap someone has been penalised, while, actually, I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice.

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“But the thing is that, because at the end of the season, everything is more or less decided, for me especially, I didn’t want to screw anyone over to prepare their lap. And by doing that, being nice, basically you get a penalty.

“That’s what I tried to explain as well, but I just felt like I was talking to a brick wall, so there’s not much that was possible for whatever reason.