Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Max Verstappen, George Russell, Mercedes, Motorsport, Formula 1
Luke Davies
Topics: Max Verstappen, George Russell, Mercedes, Motorsport, Formula 1
An F1 driver reportedly vowed to ‘stand up to’ Max Verstappen after an incident during the 2024 campaign.
Verstappen, a four-time F1 champion, is something of a Marmite figure within the racing community. Some fans love his win-at-all-costs attitude, while others take a dim view of some of his antics.
One thing is for sure: Verstappen is a winner and is not afraid of annoying his fellow competitors by calling them out in interviews or mid-race.
The Red Bull man became embroiled in a clash with Mercedes driver George Russell at the end of last season following an incident in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
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The Dutchman received a one-place grid penalty for “driving unnecessarily slowly” in his final Q3 attempt, breaching Article 33.4 of the sport’s regulations.
Verstappen’s action forced Russell to dip into one of the gravel strips.
At the time, the Englishman claimed that Verstappen had threatened him with violence and told him “he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘put me on my f****** head in the wall’”.
Verstappen, who won the Qatar race, then said that he’d “lost all respect” for Russell and added that he “didn’t say that” before the Mercedes man also claimed “people have been bullied” by the Red Bull driver for years.
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Sky Sports reported Ted Kravitz has since released a book, F1 Insider: Notes from the Pit Lane, during which he claimed Russell asked him to put follow-up questions to him about Verstappen as he wanted to “give it back to Max”, who he had “had enough of”, before the Abu Dhabi race week.
“A week after Qatar, when Russell arrived at the Abu Dhabi track, he was in no mood to let the Verstappen situation lie,” Kravitz wrote.
“I’d spent the day interviewing drivers at the TV pen, but hadn’t yet heard any earth-shattering stories.
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“A minute before his time slot, up strode George. He called me over to the edge of the pen – ‘make sure you ask me a follow-up question’.
“‘What do you mean?’ I asked. [He replied] ‘I’m going to give it back to Max. I’ve had enough of him bad-mouthing me in the press, and I’m going to call him out on his bullying tactics.
“I know you’re only supposed to ask me one question, but never mind that, I’m up for as many questions as you like.’”
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Fast forward to the present, and the duo are currently third and fourth in the 2025 Drivers’ Standings with Verstappen on 273 points just 36 points ahead of Russell on 237.
Back in July of this year, Verstappen offered his take on his relationship with Russell during an interview with the Mail and claimed the pair “get on all right” despite having their “moments” on the track.
F1 returns at the United States Grand Prix this weekend.