Max Verstappen is gunning for war with the FIA after he was given community service for swearing in an F1 press conference earlier in the Singapore Grand Prix weekend
Lando Norris produced his best Max Verstappen impression and did his talking on the track, with the Dutchman in hot water for his words out of his car.
The Brit starts on pole in Singapore today after setting the fastest qualifying lap for the fourth time in six races. It’s the sort of Saturday form title rival Verstappen showed earlier this season when Red Bull were still Formula 1’s dominant force.
This weekend he has been the centre of attention not for his driving prowess, but for his use of the F-word in a press conference on Thursday. He was handed a community service-style punishment for his bad language which has sparked outrage from the Dutchman.
After qualifying, Verstappen told journalists not to ask him questions in the FIA press conference and said he would speak more freely outside. When he was asked anything, he gave one or two-word answers only.
And outside the room, he followed through on his pledge and said: “It’s just ridiculous, to get a penalty for that. When you insult someone, it’s pretty clear, but I didn’t aim it at anyone. It’s not the right way to go forward in our sport.”
And he found allies in the form of pole-sitter Norris and Lewis Hamilton, who went third quickest, both of whom slammed the punishment. Norris said it was “unfair”, but Hamilton went further by calling for his old title rival to defy the stewards’ ruling. The seven-time champion said: “I think it’s a bit of a joke, to be honest. It’s the pinnacle of the sport, mistakes are made. I certainly wouldn’t be doing it, and I hope Max won’t do it.”
Hamilton was in a buoyant mood overall, though, after outqualifying team-mate George Russell and finally finding performance on a Saturday. He beamed: “Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I’ve just been working and working and working, trying to get myself back up there.
Suddenly, the car performed really well in qualifying after a long time. There might have been a little bit more potential left in the car, but I’m thankful for how it performed.
If Norris and Verstappen have a collision like they did in Austria earlier this year, he plans to take advantage of the situation and make the most of it. He has seen these two drivers in action at the beginning of races and during races, and knows that anything can happen.
Norris didn’t finish his fastest lap because Sainz’s crash disrupted his first Q3 attempt.
Despite setting a lap time that secured him pole position, Norris was not satisfied with his performance, according to his boss Andrea Stella. “It was a stressful situation for everyone, Lando didn’t have a great lap,” said the manager of McLaren. Norris also mentioned, “During qualifying, I was struggling to improve and get a fast lap time.
The other drivers were getting faster, but luckily my time was good enough for pole position and I’m satisfied with that.”
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