Max Verstappen and George Russell have been at each other’s throats this week (Image: Getty)
Tensions have boiled over as teams head to Abu Dhabi for the final Grand Prix of the season. This time three years ago, the UAE capital was the scene of controversial first world title, which he won following a heated battle with .
But it’s Hamilton’s ‘ team-mate who has caught Verstappen’s ire this time around. The star, who has already wrapped up this year’s world championship, was furious when the Brit led complaints that eventually saw Verstappen stripped of pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix last week.
A vitriolic war of words has ensued over the past week, with respective team principals and also getting involved.
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Toto Wolff fumes at Christian Horner
is furious with after the boss branded ‘hysterical’.
The Austrian claims his rival had crossed a line by commenting on Russell’s state of mind.
“This is a thing between drivers, this is George and Max, and I don’t want to get involved in that,” the chief said.
“But if the other team principal calls George hysterical, this is when he crosses a line for me. He is not into intellectual psychoanalysis, but that is quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver.”
Verstappen-Russell feud takes a twist
Neither nor is letting up in their feud this week.
Verstappen claimed he had “lost respect” for his rival after he lost out on pole position to the star in Qatar.
Russell has now accused Verstappen of ‘bullying’ drivers and has claimed that former race director Michael Masi, who was dismissed after the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix three years ago, would have been “fearing for his life” had Hamilton come out on top instead.
“Lewis stood up to him (Verstappen) in 2021, and Lewis lost that championship unfairly. Could you imagine the roles being reversed? I mean, [Michael] Masi would be fearing for his life,” Russell said.
“Lewis is a world champion who I aspire to be like, and I think he is a gold standard of a role model that younger kids should be looking up to.
“And the way Lewis dealt with that championship fight, he was hard, he was aggressive, he was always respectful, and he never went beyond the line.
“I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he (Verstappen) said he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘put me on my f***ing head in the wall
“So, to question somebody’s integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before, I find is very ironic, and 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 the car wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis , slamming his team…
“For me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary. Because what happens on track, we fight hard, that’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.”
George Russell and Max Verstappen are furious with each other (Image: Getty)
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