Eddie Jordan pinpoints the ‘great opportunity’ George Russell just missed to end Max Verstappen feud

The fallout between George Russell and Max Verstappen dominated the headlines at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after their conflict in Qatar boiled over into the season finale.

Verstappen was handed a controversial one-place grid penalty for the Qatar Grand Prix for driving ‘unnecessarily slowly’ during a cooldown lap in qualifying which impeded Russell. The Mercedes driver reported the Dutchman to the stewards, leading to his penalty.

Verstappen was seen in an exchange with Russell before the race and in the press conference after he secured his ninth win of the season, the four-time champion said he had lost respect for the Brit as he felt he sought out aggressively to get him a penalty.

Things boiled over in the stewards’ room where Russell alleges that Verstappen threatened to ‘put his head in a wall’, with the FIA not planning to investigate said comments. In the media pen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Russell called the Dutchman a ‘bully’ and encouraged his fellow drivers to stand up against his actions.

Some of the Mercedes and Red Bull driver’s competitors voiced their thoughts on the feud. Lando Norris surprisingly defended Verstappen by saying that ‘Max tells the truth’ – despite the multiple incidents on track the McLaren driver had with the Dutchman this season.

Before the race in Abu Dhabi, the drivers had their end-of-season dinner – which Jackie Stewart loved seeing Lewis Hamilton organise – and they thought they would play a little joke on Russell as he ran late for the gathering.

Eddie Jordan thinks George Russell missed a ‘great opportunity’ at the end-of-year dinner to end Max Verstappen feud

Images emerged on social media of the drivers posing together in a group photo, with Verstappen and Russell standing apart from each other. It was later revealed that the latter was the last to arrive and his fellow drivers had left a seat spare next to the former, which he then moved across the table to sit next to teammate Hamilton.

Speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast with David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan sees that as a ‘great opportunity’ missed for Russell, as he could have sat next to Verstappen and sorted out their drama.

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“Here’s what I would do. I thought there was a lovely story and it was a great opportunity David,” he said.

“But the drivers, you were right, Mercedes were late. So, the drivers decided that they’d have their dinner, which they normally do, and they’d play a little game on George because they knew that he’d be late.

“So they took their seats with one empty seat beside Max. So when George came in, he realised that he’d been gazumped, and George not feeling the moment for jocular activities, decided ‘ah, this is embarrassing, what the f— do I do now?’

“And what does he do? He goes when there was a great opportunity to sit down and say ‘listen Max, let’s get over this, this is too much.’

“No, he picks the chair up and walks with the chair all the way around the table, remember that there was 20-something drivers there, and goes and barges his way and muscles in besides Lewis. Now, I think that was an opportunity missed.”

Can George Russell challenge Max Verstappen on track next season?

As the 2024 season ends, the Russell-Verstappen conflict gives fans another reason to be excited for 2025 as the iconic Mercedes and Red Bull rivalry seems to have received some life.

Mercedes were firmly the fourth-best team in 2024 as they were miles behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull for much of the season. They finished 131 points behind the Milton Keynes-based outfit in the Constructors’ Championship, but over 400 points ahead of Aston Martin in fifth.

Mercedes endured a frustrating season as they once again struggled with an inconsistent car, but the Brackley-based outfit enjoyed a strong end to the campaign.

The W15 found performance in the last three races which allowed Russell and Hamilton to secure the team’s first one-two finish since 2022 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with their pace also looking competitive in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

These races with give Mercedes some encouragement heading into 2025 and with Kimi Antonelli joining the team as Lewis Hamilton heads to Ferrari, Russell will be hoping to lead the team forwards next season.