Max Verstappen has claimed he was trying not to "screw" anyone when George Russell came "flaming past" at full tilt during their final preparation laps in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen set the fastest lap of Q3 on Saturday - but learned hours later he had been handed a one-place grid penalty.
It means Russell will lead the field off the line for the start of the race on Sunday with Verstappen alongside on the front row.
Russell argued after the session that he may have sustained damage to the underside of his W15 during the close call with the Red Bull driver.
However, to Verstappen, he was just abiding by the qualifying gentlemen's agreement, and providing ample space for those ahead of him in order to avoid "screwing" them.
"I was just creating a gap to those guys in front of me," the 27-year-old told Viaplay. "He [George Russell] just came by at full throttle.
"Of course you have to stick to your delta, but at some point you can't when the drivers in front of you are driving slowly.
"You don't want to screw anybody. I don't feel like doing that at all at the end of the season, so I stayed right behind. And he came flaming past at full throttle.
"If you want to do that, that's fine. I just followed everybody without screwing anybody."
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