Martin Brundle has issued his verdict on the ongoing drama between Max Verstappen and George Russell after their fallout at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen was hit with a controversial one-place grid penalty for the race after he was judged to have been driving ‘unnecessarily slowly’ on his cooldown lap in qualifying, impeding Russell.
The Mercedes driver inherited pole position but the Dutchman went on to win the race on Sunday. Verstappen was seen having an angry exchange with Russell before the Qatar Grand Prix, later stating he had lost respect for the Brit after claiming he aggressively sought to get him a penalty.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Verstappen got the penalty because of ‘hysterics’ from Russell. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff attacked Horner during media day at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, labelling him as a ‘yapping little terrier.’
Martin Brundle says the FIA should be getting involved in the Max Verstappen and George Russell drama
In the stewards’ room in Qatar, Russell alleges that Verstappen threatened to deliberately crash into him, with the FIA currently not planning to investigate said comments.
The supposed exchange was not filmed by the Drive To Survive cameras as the feud between the two drivers has taken over the agenda for the season finale. Russell called Verstappen a ‘bully’ in the media pen in Abu Dhabi and encouraged his fellow drivers to stand up against such actions.
Verstappen and Red Bull have denied making crash threats towards Russell. Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of FP1, Brundle stated that the FIA should be ‘more involved’ in the ordeal and also highlighted that Russell is the ‘only one brave enough’ to challenge Verstappen.
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“Well George seems to be the only one brave enough to do that with Max at the moment. Everybody else has just wilted.
“The FIA should be getting involved in this and sorting it out, if they weren’t busy trying to sort themselves out. Yes, I do believe that they should be more involved in this.
“But, I’ve said for years, haven’t I? I don’t understand how the drivers can be best mates and social media lovies and then race wheel to wheel on the track. It can’t work out like that.”
Max Verstappen has already said he will change his approach in the wake of his Qatar penalty
The feud between Verstappen and Russell will be on everyone’s mind in Abu Dhabi, on a weekend that was set to mainly focus on McLaren and Ferrari’s battle for the constructors’ title.
The Dutchman doubled down on his comments in Abu Dhabi about Russell, accusing him of lying to the stewards. Verstappen even joked he would go flat out on cooldown laps and act like he was going to crash into people to incur more penalties.
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Sunday’s race is set to be an interesting one if the two drivers line up next to each other or battle with one another during the Grand Prix.
With, unsurprisingly, the team bosses now involved in the situation, it sets up an exciting 2025 season as it seems the fierce rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull has been reignited.
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