Max Verstappen calls out an F1 rival for a ‘really illegal’ move during Canada GP qualifying.
Max Verstappen called out one of his Formula 1 rivals over team radio during Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, saying they did something ‘illegal.’
Verstappen ended up qualifying sixth for Sunday’s race, just a little over three tenths behind pole winner George Russell.
The Dutch driver kept mentioning problems with his car during the first two sessions, saying it was missing straight-line speed.
He told Sky Sports reporter Rachel Brookes that the lack of pace was ‘confusing’ and he wasn’t sure what was causing it.
Q3 was a bit better for him, even though his position didn’t show it, and Red Bull is hoping that the rain expected on Sunday might help them catch up to the leaders.
READ MORE: FIA triggers ‘rain hazard’ rule for second time in F1 history ahead of Canadian GP
During his final qualifying lap, Verstappen got a bit frustrated and told his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase about something on track.
He was right behind one of the Mercedes cars and said they were “massively illegal on their delta.”
“Uhh, this Mercedes in front, he’s massively illegal on his delta for no reason,” Verstappen said.
Though he didn’t explain much, he was likely talking about rules around lap time and minimum speed drivers must follow during warm-up laps in qualifying.
Mercedes had their own drama earlier in the day when Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli had a clash during the sprint race.
Antonelli said Russell pushed him off the track at turn eight and complained to his race engineer Peter Bonnington over team radio.
“That was very naughty … that should be a penalty, I was alongside the wing mirror!” he said.
Bonnington told Antonelli to ‘keep it cool’ and ‘focus on driving’ but Antonelli wasn’t happy: “I don’t care, he pushed me off!”
This led team boss Toto Wolff to step in and take over the radio, telling Antonelli: “Kimi, concentrate on driving please, and not on the radio moaning.”
READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli demands punishment after incident with George Russell during Canada GP sprint
The Canadian Grand Prix starts at 9pm UK time at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The FIA has declared a rain hazard for the race, with over a 40% chance of rain.
This means teams can change their car setups under parc fermé rules—usually not allowed except for small tweaks—without getting a penalty.