Toto Wolff was not wrong. “If you look at it in a positive way, it could have its own reality show with what’s happening in F1 at the moment,” the Austrian remarked on Sunday night, rolling his eyes, when asked about the chaos at the Qatar Grand Prix. Wolff, of course, chose to overlook the fact that we already have a reality show in F1. It’s called Drive to Survive and it is now in its seventh season.

A cynical person might suggest the shenanigans in Lusail – the shambles on track, the bad blood off it – were actually the direct result of the Netflix smash-hit show, which needs constant feeding. But that would be to give the FIA too much credit. This is an organisation which in its review of the events of Abu Dhabi 2021 said that it would introduce “a second race director who will work in tandem with the primary race director” to make sure there could never be a repeat of the sort of human error which denied Lewis Hamilton that season’s title. Instead, thanks to the recent spate of sackings at motorsport’s world governing body, we currently have one race director, who had only been in charge of one F1 race prior to Qatar, in charge of both F1 and F2. That might help to explain the sort of race we had.

Anyway, all that stuff with the wing mirror left out on track, and the punctures, and incredibly harsh penalty for Lando Norris, was completely overshadowed in the end.

One story dominated the agenda post-race, and for good reason. Max Verstappen’s rant at George Russell post-race, to Dutch TV in the mixed zone and then in the official press conference, was quite extraordinary, both for its vehemence and its content.

“You know what it is? He [Russell] is always polite in front of the cameras, but in person he is completely different. I can’t stand that. Then it’s better to just f--- off. I don’t want anything to do with him.” Bam!

“I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and my career with people that I’ve raced, and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect.” Pow!

Forget for a moment whether what Verstappen was saying was true. None of us was in the stewards’ room with them on Saturday night, so we have no way of knowing how hard Russell pushed for that penalty, despite Red Bull principal Christian Horner’s description of his “hysterical” actions across the weekend. And in terms of Russell’s personality, there are those of us who quite like him.

But just the fact that Verstappen was willing to share that opinion at all, it is what makes him box office. He really does not care what you or I think of him. As Verstappen said following widespread criticism of his driving in Austria earlier this year, after he collided with Norris: “I don’t give a s--- about that. I go home and live my life. The only thing I care about is my friendship with Lando.”

Long may he continue not to give a s---.

There are many out there who find Verstappen objectionable. They point to perceived hypocrisy – calling out Norris for not slowing under yellows in Qatar, for instance – and accuse him of a lack of class in defeat, or in this instance, victory. But he certainly makes the sport more entertaining.

There was a period in 2022 and 2023 when Verstappen appeared to have calmed down. He was praised for his increased maturity. But he was always lurking in there. He just was not being pushed hard enough. When Verstappen is under pressure, like his father, he is quick to anger. And he does not back down an inch. Just ask Esteban Ocon, or Hamilton, or Sky Sports, or Damon Hill, or Johnny Herbert. All have been subjected to the Max hairdryer treatment at one time or another.

This was not his first run-in with Russell of course. Remember their clash in Azerbaijan last year when Verstappen called the Briton a “d---head” and subsequently a “princess”? There is definitely a personality clash there. Food for thought if Wolff ever does manage to prise Verstappen from Red Bull.

Russell told Telegraph Sport earlier this year he would have no problem teaming up with the Dutchman should he join him at Mercedes. “Max is very straightforward,” he insisted back then. “There’s no bull---- with Max. Obviously we had a bit of a coming-together in Baku last year, but we laughed about it afterwards. There is no issue at all.” He may want to remind Verstappen of that.

But this sort of thing is what makes the sport go round. The rivalries. The squabbles. The personality clashes. Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell vs Nelson Piquet, Lewis Hamilton vs Fernando Alonso, Verstappen vs Hamilton. Russell vs Verstappen has a long way to go to rival those, but it is a start.

Yes, Verstappen probably oversteps the mark sometimes, just as he does with his driving. He pushes the limit of decency. He got a bit too personal with his criticism of Russell on Sunday. Certainly reports that he bowled up to him at the drivers’ parade and said “I hope you and your FIA f--- buddies are happy” sound pretty below the belt. But on the whole he is great for the sport. Verstappen is the champion he is precisely because he is so hard-nosed. Because he does not give a s---. And because he can back it up.

Despite being so angry on Sunday, the Red Bull driver won the start from the dirty side – his team principal Horner later admitted that going into turn one Verstappen was “absolutely determined that wherever George was going to brake, he was going to brake later” – and did not put a foot wrong thereafter.

Some might wish Norris would take a leaf out of Verstappen’s book and toughen up a bit. But Norris is his own man, too. He wants to do it his own way, and if that means being nice to everyone, and giving up sprint wins to his team-mate, then so be it.

Come to think of it, the fact that Russell pushed so hard for that grid penalty perhaps bodes well for him. It shows just how hard he is prepared to fight. If Verstappen and Russell find themselves battling each other for the championship next year – not beyond the realms of possibility – Drive to Survive will capture some serious fireworks.