Verstappen 'surprised and disappointed' by Russell, Norris accepts penalty

Max Verstappen made clear his feelings about George Russell's actions leading to him being stripped of pole position when he spoke out after winning Sunday's chaotic Qatar Grand Prix.

The newly crowned four-time world champion said he felt "surprised and disappointed" by the Mercedes driver's attempt to see him penalised after an incident during qualifying at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday.

"I was surprised and disappointed in the stewards' room," said Verstappen. "I have been in there many times, of course, but I have never before seen someone trying to screw someone else over that hard."

Speaking to reporters after winning Sunday's race, Verstappen had explained that he had been trying "to be nice" in slowing down on his lap in qualifying and did nothing deliberate to upset Russell.

The pair had enjoyed a good relationship until this incident which Verstappen made clear had changed his view.

"I was just trying to be nice and maybe that is not the way to be," he said. "But I am not surprised by anything anymore in this business."

Russell had complained that Verstappen's driving was dangerous on Saturday when he slowed on track ahead of him, causing him to take evasive action.

The outcome of his complaint was a stewards' investigation and Verstappen being stripped of his pole position -– his one place demotion gifting his rival his career fifth pole.

But the Mercedes driver was unable to take advantage of his position at the start of the race when a determined Verstappen made a blistering start and then stormed to a classic flawless win.

His race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase referred to the stewards' decision and penalty during Verstappen's slow down lap after winning.

"Karma is a wonderful thing," he said. "You definitely did not drive unnecessarily slowly today. Great job."

The Dutch driver responded by praising the Red Bull team.

"Simply lovely, guys. Yes, yes, yes. What an unbelievable race again. That was really fun!"

After finishing eighth in Saturday's sprint race, he and Red Bull performed a spectacular turnaround to win on Sunday, claiming his ninth victory of the season.

"It was a very good race," he said. "Of course, yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better and today that first stint was very, very fast. Lando and I were within 1.8 seconds of each other the whole time, pushing each other and honestly, it was a lot of fun out there.

"This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on, so that was a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. We went really long on that first stint. After that there were a few Safety Car moments that you had to take care of, but I'm very happy.

"It's been a while in the dry to be this competitive, and very proud of everyone in the team to turn it around within a day. So, they definitely also deserve this victory."

NORRIS ACCEPTS PENALTY

Lando Norris said he did not see the yellow flags, signaling that he should slow down, which led to him receiving a crushing 10-second stop-go penalty that wrecked his hopes of success in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver, who went from second to 15th as a result of the penalty, admitted that he did not lift off, but said he understood the rule.

“It’s a fair penalty,” he said. “It’s the rule.”

“But honestly, I don't know what I did wrong.

"Apparently, I didn't slow under the yellows.

“I am not an idiot and, if I saw a yellow, I would have slowed down. The rule is you have to slow down under the yellow, so it is a fair penalty.

"It’s an opportunity missed."

Red Bull’s newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen won ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Oscar Piastri finishing third for McLaren.

McLaren had hoped to move closer to clinching the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998, but ended the day leading Ferrari by 12 points with one race to go in Abu Dhabi next Sunday.

His McLaren race team boss Andrea Stella said he felt the race was unfolding ‘in a strong way’ for McLaren and he ‘felt optimistic’ but the result was ‘affected dramatically’ by the penalty.

“We checked the data and he stayed flat out,” he said. “The driver needs to recognize and to back off in those situations.

“But it was quite peculiar that it was deployed and then removed.”

He said the stewards had “lost any sense of proportion and specificity in the penalty” adding that they had not looked at the level of danger in that situation.

“The removal of the yellow flag and to then judge it with just a rule book full of dust … and then to apply it without any sense of critical approach,” he added. “It was an opportunity to do better for the FIA.”

The race director and race stewards were also widely criticised for failing to deploy a Safety Car immediately when an errant mirror from Kevin Magnussen’s Haas car was left lying on the main straight.

The double yellow flags were instead deployed, leading not only to Norris’s penalty, but also punctures for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari.

Verstappen slowed briefly on the straight and then asked his Red Bull team if Norris had slowed or continued flat out. It prompted stewards’ action.

It was a demanding first chaotic weekend for newly installed race director Rui Marques following a spate of dismissals and departures at the FIA.