Russell expected Verstappen crash after Qatar pole loss

George Russell has stated he was expecting a crash with Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Russell inherited pole position for the race on Saturday after Verstappen was issued a one-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly during a cool-down lap.

Verstappen has since lashed out at Russell for his plea to the stewards on Saturday to issue the now-four-time world champion a grid penalty.

With Verstappen keen to recover the leading position, Russell admitted he was expecting to come together with the Red Bull driver on the opening lap.

“To be honest I was expecting a crash, but ultimately we made it easy for him because both Lewis and I made a terrible start,” Russell told media including RacingNews365.

“It was a pretty simple overtake for him which was a bit frustrating for us.

“It's strange how when things are working and the car is quick, everything seems just to work so well. 

“When the car is off the pace a bit, everything just seems to go wrong and today was a great example of that.”

Russell ended the grand prix in fourth place despite facing adversities, including a seven-second pit stop and a five-second time penalty for a safety car infringement.

“I think P4 is probably a flattering result, considering how the race went. It's funny how this sport changes overnight,” Russell added.

“Everything was great on Friday. Saturday was a great day, and then we had no pace today.

“At best, we were two or three-tenths behind Max and Lando. The start was bad, I had a slow pit stop, a penalty - I don't even know what for, to be honest.”