George Russell has opened up on seeing Max Verstappen at the driver's parade ahead of last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix – and he "knew" something was up.
It has been the biggest fall out in recent F1 history and it all started on November 30, when Verstappen lost pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver produced a superb lap to seal pole but after being summoned to the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly in preparation for his fast lap, Verstappen was handed a one-place grid drop.
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Russell, meanwhile, accused his opponent of "super dangerous" driving.
Verstappen ended up winning Sunday's race but the incident in qualifying left a bitter taste. In fact, the Dutchman accused Russell of trying to “screw him over hard” in the stewards room after qualifying.
After the race, Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz detailed a heated 'confrontation' between Verstappen and Russell in the drivers' parade holding room.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also suggested that Verstappen and Russell had "a moment" during the pre-race drivers’ parade.
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And now, Russell himself has given an insight into the situation as he continues to speak out on the escalating fall out.
"I knew that was a bit of a heat of the moment thing," the Mercedes driver said, as per Adam Cooper. "But when I went to see him the next day at the driver's parade, when Checo was there, and we were joking around a little bit – I saw it in his eyes that he means it."
As mentioned above the incident has continued to snowball, days after the Qatar Grand Prix.
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On Thursday, Russell hit back at criticism from Verstappen in an extraordinary interview as he detailed what the latter said to him.
Speaking to a group of reporters, he said: "I find it all quite ironic considering Saturday night he said he's going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, 'Put me on my f***ing head in the wall'.
"So to question someone's integrity as a person while saying comments like that the day before, I find very ironic.
"I’m not going to sit here and accept it. People have been bullied by Max for years now and you can't question his driving abilities [but] he cannot deal with adversity, whenever anything has gone against him, Jeddah '21, Brazil '21, he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race car wasn't dominant, crashing into Lewis, slamming his team.
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"For me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary because what happens on track - we fight hard - it's part of racing. What happens in the stewards room, you fight hard, but it's never personal.
"But he’s taken it too far now."
Topics: George Russell, Max Verstappen, Formula 1
Jack Kenmare