George Russell apologized to Max Verstappen after the Red Bull star interrupted him moments after taking pole. Russell overtook Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for first place after Verstappen suffered mechanical failure moments before his final race.
Verstappen met Russell in the media pen before patting him on the back to congratulate him. Verstappen said: “Well done mate.”
Russell replied, “Yes, sorry. Cheers.”
It came moments after Verstappen went on an angry team radio rant after suffering mechanical problems in the closing stages of Q3. The Dutchman reported a loss of power in his final warm-up lap, which meant he was unable to challenge for pole.
He was only fast enough to finish seventh after his first race after locking tires and running out. The reigning champion called on his team to “fix the issues” after dropping to 10th as others improved.
READ MORE: Hamilton explains big rift with Russell in grim interview
Meanwhile, Russell delivered one of the shocks of the season so far by putting his Mercedes at the top of the time sheets. The Silver Arrows looked out of rhythm in Friday’s training sessions despite Russell’s admission that the weekend was restorative.
Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton topped the early part of qualifying, raising suspicions that the German manufacturer could challenge. However, after qualifying, the Mercedes man claimed he doesn’t know where the pace came from as he disqualified both Ferraris on pure pace.
He explained: “I mean yesterday was definitely our worst Friday of the season and we worked really hard and we didn’t know which way to go. Then on the last lap I did lap 1, mega corner 1 , then the mega Turn 2 and the lap time just kept coming and going.
DON’T MISS Max Verstappen launches a furious radio rant at the Red Bull team [INSIGHT]Charles Leclerc produces an X-rated response while Nicholas Latifi surprises [ANALYSIS]George Russell’s hilarious response to Mercedes engineer after skidding [COMMENT]
“I crossed the line and looked at the screen and saw we were in P1 and it was an amazing feeling. We have to look at it and understand where it came from today.
“We’re absolutely going to go for it, but regardless, it was a special day for sure.”
Hamilton struggled in Q3 and was only quick enough to finish seventh on the grid. However, team boss Toto Wolff issued a warning to Ferrari as he promised Mercedes would have some “fun and games” at the front of the field on Sunday.
He added: “The truth is we saw from the start of qualifying that our tires were in the right window and the car was balanced. They drove it really well and then they got confidence from race to race and this one went be the result
“At this point you want to cry for pole position, but you also know the car was good for him (Lewis) to be in as well. Very, very bitter sweet. This is a solid result, we were always off the pace. one lap and now we’re on pole, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”