Sebastian Vettel broke the driver’s code during Q3 in China as he cheekily passed Max Verstappen to begin his final hot lap.
The move ruined Max’s lap before he even started it. The Dutchman wasn’t happy.
“Seb races harder on Saturday than he does Sunday.”
The comments via team radio have sent shockwaves through the Paddock, but Max wasn’t finished.
“This is why we need a Q4!!” Verstappen yelled angrily.
“That’s payback for 2018!” Vettel radioed as he passed Verstappen.
Vettel denied Max’s comments after the race, insisting he drives equally hard on Saturdays and Sundays.
“I just don’t f**k up on Saturdays” he insisted.
Pierre Gasly was also caught out by Vettel’s move, as Verstappen backed off into him.
“Yeah that’s why I was slow, that definitely cost me over a second” Gasly assured Red Bull staff.
However, Red Bull officials confirmed Gasly’s lap was affected by another issue.
“Pierre’s lap was ruined by the fact that Pierre was in the car,” an official told us. “We’re working hard to understand how this happened, so we can rectify it for Sunday”
Even Alex Albon who sat out the session was affected by Vettel.
“Sure my car wasn’t even built, but had I been out there and had I been behind Max and had my qualifying not already been ruined, my qualifying would have been ruined!” Albon said furiously
“Doesn’t matter that he put my fire out on Friday, he broke the driver code!”
“Seb wouldn’t have passed me.” said Antonio Giovinazzi, proudly.
