F1 journalist reveals what George Russell did immediately after arriving at drivers' dinner and it speaks volumes amid Max Verstappen feud
Russell and Verstappen were both at the F1 drivers' end-of-season dinner.
An F1 reporter has revealed what George Russell did seconds after arriving at the traditional end-of-season drivers' dinner - and it speaks volumes.
The dinner was held on Thursday evening ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton organising it ahead of his last race with Mercedes before moving to Ferrari.
World champion Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were all present - though most of the drivers there arrived before Russell did.
The Brit, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, was one of the last to arrive, according to journalist Adam Cooper.
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According to an unnamed driver, Russell walked into the restaurant only to find that his seat had been reserved next to none other than Verstappen.
The joke, of course, relates to the heated drama between the two drivers this week, which begun after qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards as they investigated Verstappen over driving excessively slowly during an outlap. The Dutchman was ultimately given a one-place grid penalty.
He claimed that Russell 'lied' to the stewards and 'tried to force the penalty on me' having been involved in the initial incident, adding that he had 'lost all respect' for the Mercedes driver.
Their feud continued into this week, with Russell claiming on Thursday in his pre-Abu Dhabi press conference that Verstappen was a 'bully' and that he threatened to 'purposefully' crash into him into Qatar.
The world champion refuted that claim in a separate interview - having already slammed Russell in his official FIA press conference earlier in the day.
That all made it slightly ironic that the drivers' get-together was set for Thursday evening. But Russell was in no mood to sit next to his new foe.
Cooper reports that, upon seeing his seat was next to Verstappen's, Russell walked up and moved it to the other side of the table.
Photos from the dinner showed that Verstappen and Russell were indeed sat on opposite sides of the table in Abu Dhabi.
Several drivers reposted the photo of the drivers to their Instagram accounts but didn't bring up the feud - except for Lando Norris.
He wrote: "Yes, the two you're thinking about were sat as far away from each other as possible."
Topics: Formula 1, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris
Ryan Smart