While Max Verstappen and George Russell posed next to each other for a GPDA image, that did not mean the hatchet was buried.

That is the claim of 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg, who was sharing the information he had heard after an end-of-year Grand Prix Drivers’ Association picture emerged which suggested Verstappen and Russell were perhaps back on good terms after their Qatar/Abu Dhabi spat.

Verstappen and Russell image ‘most awkward moment’

A heated Qatar GP stewards’ room encounter between Verstappen and Russell – Verstappen receiving a one-place grid drop for driving too slowly in qualifying and conceding pole to Russell – spilled over into the Abu Dhabi finale, where the duo started the weekend hurling verbal jabs between both camps.

Verstappen said he has “lost all respect” for Russell, who he accused of “lying” to get him a penalty, while Russell claimed Verstappen had threatened to deliberately crash into him, and even brought up the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi GP and Hungary 2024 – after which a quarter of Verstappen’s engineering team wanted to leave according to Russell – as part of his return fire.

The two drivers were pictured sat at opposite ends of the table for the F1 drivers’ traditional end-of-season dinner, with a prank played on Russell by leaving him an empty seat next to Verstappen, but the pair were placed together and wore smiles for a GPDA image to close out the year.

All 20 drivers! ❤️#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/YJtlgN4eOd

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024

But, according to Rosberg, far from a hatchet buried situation, this was a very awkward one.

“So I heard that that was just a pure coincidence that they ended up being front and centre together there,” said Rosberg, a Sky F1 pundit in Abu Dhabi.

“And it was the most awkward moment of the weekend so far. That’s what I heard.”

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The spat between the drivers did not sit well with former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan, who urged Verstappen and Russell to move past this “sad encounter”.

Referencing the Abu Dhabi F1 drivers’ dinner prank, Jordan, speaking on the Formula For Success podcast, added: “I thought it was a lovely story.

“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 he’d be late. So they all took their seats with one empty seat beside Max.

“When George came in, he realised that he’d been gazumped, and George not feeling the moment for jocularly activities, decided, ‘Oh, this is embarrassing, what the f*** do I do now?’

“And what does he do when there was a great opportunity to sit down and say, ‘Listen, Max, let’s get over this, it is too much’. No, he picks the chair up and he walks with the chair all the way around the table.

“Remember that there were 20 something drivers there, and he goes and barges his way and muscles in beside Lewis. Now, I think that was an opportunity missed and I would say, reach out to George, ‘George Max, we don’t need this. Go and shake hands, have a pint together, laugh about it, and let’s move on’. That’s what I would say.”

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