Max Verstappen (L) George Russell (R) (Image via Getty)
Former F1 world champion Damon Hill recently reacted to George Russell's comments on Max Verstappen after the latter received a one-place grid penalty in the Qatar GP qualifying. Russell said he was expecting a crash with the Dutchman at the start of the race.
In Lusail, Verstappen was able to take pole position in the qualifying session but was later investigated by the race stewards for impeding second-placed George Russell by driving necessarily slow. Both drivers discussed the matter with FIA officials. Eventually, the governing body gave a special one-place grid penalty to Verstappen and rewarded the pole position to George Russell.
Max Verstappen was furious with how George Russell pushed the race stewards to penalize the Dutchman. Hence, the Mercedes driver stated he expected a crash between him and Verstappen at the start of the 2024 F1 Qatar GP. He added that because of his and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton's poor starts, the Red Bull driver got the advantage and overtook them on lap one.
