It’s safe to say that Max Verstappen wasn’t the happiest of drivers after Saturday afternoon’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race, with the Dutchman having been hit by George Russell on the opening lap.
Verstappen started the sprint from third with Russell alongside him in fourth; however, it was the Mercedes driver who made the better start.
As a result, the duo went through the opening two corners side by side, with Russell on the inside of Verstappen.
However, at Turn 2 Russell ran wide after having a lock-up, something which sent him into the side of the reigning World Champion.
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The contact resulted in a gaping hole being created in Verstappen’s left sidepod, something which drastically affected the performance of his RB19.
Russell moved ahead of Verstappen as a result; however, the Red Bull driver did eventually get the position back.
Despite gaining P3 back, Verstappen remained absolutely livid with Russell, resulting in a frosty encounter in parc ferme.
“It’s not clarified [the situation with Russell],” Verstappen said in his parc ferme post-race interview, moments after calling Russell a “di*khead” on live TV.
“I don’t understand why you need to take so much risk, under steer into my sidepod. We all have no grip. It’s fine, we still got into P3 and got some good points but it is what it is. It doesn’t look [the car] that great, we will focus on tomorrow.”
Unsurprisingly, fans were quick to share their views on Verstappen’s foul-mouthed rant, with one fan having questioned the Dutchman’s eyesight.
“Max Verstappen of all people telling George Russell he needs to leave some more space,” wrote @RedAlex on Twitter, along with a photo of ‘The Simpsons’ character Bart being blind.
Another F1 fan @speergle, simply commented “Imola”, in reference to Verstappen hitting Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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Some fans did defend Verstappen, though, for showing a surprising amount of caution on the opening lap.
“Verstappen has a reputation for aggressive starts, but his caution was justified in Baku,” wrote @kayleejoyn66019.
@Th3LittleBella also wrote on Twitter: “That hole looked bad! Not gonna lie I closed my eyes when the contact happened.”