There’s a war brewing between Max Verstappen and George Russell! Following the Dutchman’s tirade during the Qatar GP, Russell hit back hard in the run-up to the season finale in Abu Dhabi. While Verstappen claimed to have ‘lost all respect’ for his Mercedes colleague, Russell went one step further. The Brit has had enough of the reigning champion, who is also alleged to have threatened to deliberately push him into the wall.
George Russell is said to have done everything in his power to impose a grid penalty on Max Verstappen after qualifying in Qatar. In the end, the world champion had to actually give up his pole position to his British rival. “Behind the scenes, he’s a completely different person – then you can really get lost,” Verstappen stated afterwards. In the run-up to the Abu Dhabi GP, Russell defended himself and stated that the Dutchman is far from saintly.
“I find it all rather ironic when you consider that he said on Saturday night that he wanted to deliberately push me into the wall,” Russell told the media. “I quote: ‘I’ll push your whole head into the fucking wall.’ To question someone’s integrity while making such comments the day before, I find very ironic.” Russell emphasized that he will absolutely not accept Verstappen’s statements.
‘Max Has Been a Nuisance for Years’
“People have been bothered by Max Verstappen for years,” he continued, visibly irritated. “Of course, you can’t question his abilities, but he simply can’t handle adversity. Every time he feels wronged – Jeddah ’21, Brazil ’21 – he lashes out. Take Budapest this year as an example: the car isn’t dominant for once, and he immediately crashes into Lewis (Hamilton). Our team then has to deal with the fallout.”
“For me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were completely disrespectful and unnecessary,” Russell explained. “What happens on the track – we naturally fight hard – is part of racing. There’s also a tough fight in the meetings with the stewards, but it’s never personal. In this case, Verstappen really crossed the line. I don’t understand why other drivers have let him get away with his behavior in the past. You can cross the line, make a small misjudgment, but when you say you’re going to deliberately push someone off the track, you’ve gone too far.”
