By Alan Baldwin
MONTREAL (Reuters) -Max Verstappen showed his irritation with questions about penalty points and race bans after qualifying on the front row for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix alongside old foe George Russell.
Mercedes’ Russell took pole position for the second year in a row with Red Bull’s Verstappen, who is chasing a fourth successive Canadian victory, second fastest.
The race will be the first since the Formula One rivals collided in Spain, an incident that left Verstappen one penalty point away from a mandatory ban.
Asked about “the penalty points thing” at a post-qualifying press conference, Verstappen — who is third in the championship with Russell fourth — did not hold back.
“I don’t need to hear it again. It’s really pissing me off. I mean, you were speaking about it on Thursday. It’s such a waste of time. It’s very childish,” he said.
“So, that’s why I also don’t want to say too much because it’s really annoying, this world that we live in.”
Verstappen acknowledged after Spain that he made a mistake in driving into Russell, an incident stemming from frustration at having to hand back a place, but the topic has followed him to Canada.
With the pair lining up alongside each other, the paddock was full of discussion about what might happen on the short run down to the first corner in Sunday’s race.
The pair could never be described as good friends, the bad blood between them laid bare at last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender when they publicly traded accusations of bullying and lying.
Russell joked on Saturday that he had fewer penalty points on his super-licence, and therefore more room to play with, but seriously did not expect any real advantage.
“I don’t think any driver goes out looking to crash into somebody and get penalty points on your licence. Max is one of the best drivers,” he said.
“There’s no reason for him to race any differently, and I’m not sitting here thinking he’s going to give us more room. If anything, probably the opposite to try and prove a point.
“Ultimately, we’re all here to win. You’re not going to do something that’s going to jeopardise yourself from the race. It’s a busy season as well. If you get a race ban, you get a race ban and spend some time at home.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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