The conflict between Max Verstappen and George Russell reached a new high at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after an unbelievable media day.
The issue between the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers stems back to the Qatar Grand Prix, where Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty for driving ‘unnecessarily slowly’ during a cooldown lap in qualifying.
The Dutchman had set the fastest time by 0.063s to Russell, but the Brit claimed he was impeded by the slow-moving Red Bull in Q3, leading to his penalty.
Verstappen joked he would go flat out on cooldown laps to avoid a further penalty, but not many would have expected the dramatic fallout between the two drivers that followed.
Verstappen was seen in an angry exchange with Russell before the race in Qatar, saying he had lost respect for the Brit during the post-race press conference.
The feud boiled over into the stewards’ room, where Russell alleges that the four-time champion threatened to deliberately crash into him, with the FIA not currently planning to investigate said comments.
Max Verstappen’s crash threat to George Russell was not filmed by Drive To Survive cameras
The plot thickened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Verstappen denied he said these remarks and accused Russell of lying to the stewards. The Brit labelled the Red Bull driver a ‘bully’ in the media pen and encouraged other drivers to stand up to the Dutchman.
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The whole ordeal has taken the F1 world by storm and sets up an interesting final race in Abu Dhabi and may reignite the fierce rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull seen in 2021 next season.
Netflix’s Drive To Survive will no doubt have their cameras eagerly watching the situation for their hugely popular documentary series, with Craig Slater confirming part of the exchange was filmed. However, speaking on Sky Sports News, the journalist understands that the alleged threat from Verstappen to crash into Russell was not caught on their cameras.
“People might know that some of the exchanges between Russell and Verstappen were filmed for the Netflix Drive to Survive series.
“My understanding is not the particular one where this alleged threat took place, which was leaving the stewards’ room. So, maybe that doesn’t exist or could be proved to exist or not via some recordings of that particular broadcast.
“But this is the backdrop now to the weekend.”
What have Christian Horner and Toto Wolff had to say about the drama?
Verstappen and Russell’s conflict extends further than just the two drivers, as their team bosses have also thrown shade at their rivals.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claimed that Verstappen’s penalty was awarded due to ‘hysterics’ from Russell in what looked to be a follow-up to the Dutchman’s comments, where he accused Russell of arguing too aggressively to get him a penalty.
During Russell’s media session in Abu Dhabi, Toto Wolff interrupted his driver’s questions to lay into Horner for his comments in Qatar.
Wolff said Horner ‘crossed the line’ by calling Russell ‘hysteric’, labelling him as a ‘yapping little terrier’ who always has to get involved.
In a weekend that was mainly going to be about the Constructors’ Championship fight between McLaren and Ferrari, this drama between the Red Bull and Mercedes camps is set to dominate the agenda in Abu Dhabi.
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