“They have to move”: Max Verstappen blasts ‘silly’ Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Reigning three-time world champion Max Verstappen lashed out at the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell following the FP2 session of the Abu Dhabi GP.

As the drivers and teams prepare for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, the lead-up to Sunday's race has been an exciting affair. Whilst FP1 saw the participation of 10 rookie drivers in order for teams to fulfill the mandatory obligation to field a rookie driver in two races during the year, FP2 faced interruptions.

Delays were caused in the practice session due to Carlos Sainz's early crash and Nico Hulkenberg's spin immediately after the restart, limiting track time for the remaining drivers.

The session saw a final restart with 16 minutes left on the clock. Max Verstappen seized the opportunity to pass George Russell and Hamilton in the pit lane, executing a daring overtake around the outside of the left-hand turn into the underground pit exit, with his tires inches away from the wall. Russell voiced his concerns over team radio, noting the incident.

Verstappen was left unimpressed with the situation. Speaking to F1.com, the Dutchman voiced his frustration, stating (h/t PlanetF1):

"They have to move. They’re all driving slow and I want to go out because we’re all limited on time and they just keep driving in the middle."

The 26-year-old also added:

"And when I tried to pass, they tried to squeeze me in the wall, so a bit silly."

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Max Verstappen has "a few things to figure out" on Saturday

When asked about the learnings from Friday's running, the Dutchman acknowledged the suboptimal balance of their car, citing understeer and erratic behavior. He said, via the aforementioned source:

"Not so much and also, from our side, the balance was very off: a lot of understeer, a lot of jumping, so definitely a few things to figure out for tomorrow."

Despite these challenges, Verstappen maintains optimism. He said:

“A lot to figure out for FP3 to be good in qualifying, but we’ll see. I didn’t expect it to be so far off, so it’s a bit of a question mark for us. We’re still P3, it’s not too bad, but balance-wise it can be a lot better.”

George Russell led the first practice session ahead of Aston Martin rookie Felipe Drugovich and AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc won the FP2 ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen would hope to continue his dominant run and end the 2023 season on the highest possible note. With 549 points and 18 wins, he has already broken the record for most points and wins in an F1 season.