Max Verstappen and George Russell were involved in one of the most extraordinary media days in F1’s recent history at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this month. It all stemmed from an incident at the previous race in Qatar.
With both drivers on preparation laps, Russell was driving much faster than Verstappen, who had a slow-moving Fernando Alonso in front of him. The Mercedes driver took evasive action when he encountered the Red Bull.
After a post-qualifying trip to the stewards, Verstappen lost his pole position, with Russell promoted from second to first. The world champion felt his rival had overdramatised the incident for his own benefit.
Verstappen won the race after passing Russell at the start, with the Englishman dropping to fourth. But that didn’t stop him from launching a tirade in the post-race press conference, where he said he’d ‘lost all respect’.
Russell claimed that the 27-year-old had threatened to ‘put you on your head in the wall’ after they left the stewards room. The FIA chose not to investigate the allegations against Verstappen amid a lack of evidence.
What’s more, Russell stunned F1 legend Damon Hill by accusing the 63-time race-winner of bullying his competitors. Echoing teammate Lewis Hamilton, he also declared that Verstappen can’t deal with adversity.
Why Max Verstappen believes his relationship with George Russell will be ‘fine’ in 2025
Speaking to ServusTV, Verstappen revealed that he held brief talks with Russell after the Abu Dhabi GP. Neither driver finished on the podium, with the former sixth and the latter fifth.
Many were hoping for an on-track run-in after the off-track drama, but it didn’t materialise. Still, Verstappen has sought to diffuse the tension, rather than stoke it.
He offered a three-word update on their relationship – ‘everything is OK’ – and predicted that their spat would be forgotten by 2025 testing. Russell is one of the drivers who will be looking to dethrone the four-time title-winner.
“We spoke briefly after the race in Abu Dhabi – everything is OK,” Verstappen said. “We’ll start again next year and that will be fine.”
George Russell missed a ‘great opportunity’ in Max Verstappen dispute, Eddie Jordan says
Some F1 fans will be disappointed by Verstappen’s latest comments because they wanted the feud to drag on. Indeed, former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg said it was ‘great to see’ Russell standing his ground.
Others would prefer the duo to show more mutual respect. For instance, Justin Bell says the ‘infantile’ Russell and Verstappen showed the ‘worst’ side of themselves.
Eddie Jordan felt Russell missed ‘a great opportunity’ to make peace with Verstappen at the traditional drivers’ dinner in Abu Dhabi. But, as it turns out, it wasn’t long before they took steps towards a reconciliation.
There may, however, be lasting damage to the already strained relationship between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. Wolff felt Horner crossed the line with his criticism of Russell at Lusail, and publicly clapped back.
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