Nico Rosberg has issued his thoughts on the explosive feud between George Russell and Max Verstappen that has taken the Formula 1 paddock by storm.
The Red Bull and Mercedes drivers have been caught in a war of words since the Qatar Grand Prix. Verstappen was seen in a heated exchange with Russell before the race after the Brit reported the Dutchman for impeding him in a cooldown lap in qualifying, landing him a one-place grid penalty.
Verstappen said he has lost respect for the Mercedes driver as the drama boiled over into the stewards’ room, where Russell alleges that the four-time champion threatened to deliberately crash into him – which Verstappen denies.
Verstappen doubled down on his comments at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while Russell labelled the Dutchman as a ‘bully’ in the media pen and called for his fellow drivers to stand up against his actions.
Naturally, the Red Bull and Mercedes got involved in the feud. Christian Horner said Russell’s ‘hysterics’ got Verstappen the penalty, and Toto Wolff fired back at Horner’s comments in Abu Dhabi, calling him a ‘yapping little terrier’.
Horner responded by telling Wolff to focus on Lewis Hamilton’s final race with Mercedes rather than worrying about attacking him.
Nico Rosberg says George Russell’s approach with the media in Max Verstappen drama was something Lewis Hamilton ‘mastered’
Horner was also critical of Russell for going to the media rather than standing face-to-face with Verstappen and sorting out the issue.
But Nico Rosberg says it is ‘great’ to see Russell step up to Verstappen and that he was ‘smarter’ with his approach to speaking to the media about the issue – something that Lewis Hamilton ‘mastered’ during his career.
Speaking about whether Russell should have gone to the media, Rosberg said via Sky Sports F1: “It really depends, but the media is a tool that you can use very, very strongly. Something that Lewis for example mastered back in my time. He was very good with speaking to you guys.
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“In the heat of the moment he was just smarter or just saying the better things. Because it’s so hard. Something happens on track, you haven’t even seen it on TV and you go straight in front of the microphone. It’s so hard to say the best possible thing and it can really backfire big time and you can get it really wrong with whatever you’re saying.
“But at the same time you have an opportunity here to use the power of the media, the power of the opinion of the world.
“This is now George realty trying to step up to Max and fight him, use the media. Interesting, interesting to watch and I think it’s great, because we haven’t seen any other driver stand up to Max in that way so far.”
What have the rest of the paddock had to say about the Max Verstappen and George Russell feud?
Verstappen’s alleged comments about threatening to crash into Russell is a serious statement, but the FIA is not currently planning on investigating the matter.
Martin Brundle wants the FIA to get more involved in the feud, whilst also stating that he cannot understand how all the drivers can be ‘best mates’ and race each other on the track.
Many key figures have also praised Russell for standing up to Verstappen, unlike the Dutchman’s close rival Lando Norris. Jolyon Palmer says Norris is too ‘magnanimous’ with Verstappen while Russell has established himself as one of the statesman of the sport by fighting the Red Bull driver.
Craig Slater says Russell has done something people were calling for Norris to do and challenge Verstappen for his aggressive defensive driving in their battles this season, rather than stepping back and not taking action.
