Horner pokes fun at 'hysterical' Russell

Christian Horner has made light of Max Verstappen's unconventional one-place grid penalty for the Qatar Grand Prix at the expense of George Russell.

The Red Bull team principal said the British driver had been "quite hysterical" all weekend at the Lusail International Circuit, after he reportedly pushed hard in the stewards' office for Verstappen to be penalised for their qualifying near miss.

In Horner's view, Russell's conduct behind closed doors was a determining factor in what he called an "unprecedented" penalty for his driver.

"The penalty was more based on hysterics from George [Russell], who has been quite hysterical this weekend," Horner told media including RacingNews365 with a comically-timed inflection.

"Unfortunately, I think there was a little bit of gamesmanship going on in that.

"Let's just say he [Max Verstappen] wasn't enamoured with the decision.

"It was a very strange decision, because... both cars were on slow laps.

"I did feel that George and Mercedes made a big meal out of it, and it was unprecedented on a slow lap for Max to end up with a one-place penalty."

'Maybe Russell was driving recklessly'

After the grand prix, Verstappen was outspoken about Russell's antics, claiming he had lost respect for the Mercedes driver and arguing that the 26-year-old is two-faced.

Horner felt that if anything, Russell should have been penalised, contenting that the three-time grand prix winner may have been driving recklessly.

He also compared the incident to diving in football when speaking to Sky Sports F1, implying that Russell manufactured the situation to suit his own ends.

"I think he was disappointed with it," the 50-year-old said, addressing how Verstappen felt about the matter.

"If you look at it objectively, one could argue that perhaps George was driving a little too quickly on a slow lap with two slow cars ahead of him, so maybe he was driving recklessly.

"It was frustrating to get that penalty. He [Verstappen] was already motivated to win this race, and I think it only added to his enthusiasm to get off the line well."