Max Verstappen and George Russell have had a war of words (Image: Getty)
and have become mortal enemies in the space of a week – despite the pair having enjoyed a prior friendship. The fiery rivalry between the drivers has dominated headlines in the racing world after the duo came to blows before last Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
After the star was demoted from pole position for driving slowly with the driver complaining to stewards that he was obstructed by the four-time champion during the last segment of qualifying, he confronted the 26-year-old. The penalty promoted Russell to pole who ended up winning the race with Verstappen finishing fifth but claiming his fourth consecutive title.
as he told media that he “lost respect” for the Brit: “You know what it is? He (Russell) always acts very nice here in front of the cameras, but when you are in there (in the stewards’ room) he is just a completely different person. I can’t stand that. Then it’s better to just f*** off, because I don’t have to deal with it.
“It was honestly very disappointing, because I think all of us here, we respect each other a lot. I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and in my career with people that I’ve raced. And I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect.”
Russell offered up his rebuttal and the day before the Qatar Grand Prix after their pre-race war of words. “I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he 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’,” Russell said at the drivers’ press conference in Abu Dhabi.
“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.” He went as far to accuse the reigning world champion of being a “bully” to other drivers on the grid.
“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,” he added. The pair have had plenty of ups and downs during their relationship off and on the track.
Bad blood in Azerbaijan
Conflict between the drivers could be traced back to 2021 when Verstappen branded Russell a “d***head” after the pair collided during a sprint race in Azerbaijan. The incident left a hole in the sidepod of the Dutchman’s , leaving the hot-headed Verstappen incensed.
Despite the not-so-nice verbiage thrown Russell’s way, he played down the incident when discussing it on the Beyond the Grid podcast for the first time five months after it occurred. “I think it began with a “D”, and I think it ended in a “D” as well,” the Brit jokingly said. He added: “Yeah, you know, it’s racing. We’re all in the heat of the moment. It’s a physical sport, even though it’s sometimes not perceived that way.”
The feud between the two F1 stars was sparked at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
Russell defends Verstappen
It was only two months ago when Russell publicly backed his now-bitter rival after he was forced to complete community service due to swearing in a press conference back in October for the Singapore Grand Prix. The ban on swear words came after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem slammed the use of explicit words and offensive comments on the radio.
While also came to the defence of Verstappen, Russell backed the Dutchman when he said: “We definitely don’t want to take that raw emotion away from the drivers. I think that’s key in our sport. Maybe, in a press conference, there’s merit in saying we need to keep our words clean. But for sure, on the radio, you want to be able to express yourself as you desire.”
Verstappen praises Russell’s championship quality
Being a four-time champion means you certainly know something about winning. After winning his first Grand Prix in 2022, Russell defeated Hamilton in his first season at with Verstappen taking notice of Russell’s impressive performances despite not earning a race win in his debut campaign with the Silver Arrows.
Back in 2023, Verstappen said he believes Russell can become a world champion: “George is part of the generation with and and me that grew up together. I raced against George a bit in karting, though he’s a year younger. You could see straight away he was good. It came naturally to him – he didn’t need a lot of laps to be quick. He has the potential to be a world champion.”
Off-track relationship
With just five months separating the pair, they’ve known each other since they were kids and regularly raced each other. As they’ve established themselves in F1, their relationship has seemed to be positive as they’ve been snapped playing padel together alongside and .
The racing quartet all live in Monte Carlo and have made an effort to regularly play the popular sport when enjoying breaks throughout the season. Verstappen even recently joked that he’s invited the Brit to padel numerous times but his intense training schedule has seen him miss out on several get-togethers.
“We have invited him many times to padel but sometimes his training schedule didn’t allow him to go to padel,” the superstar said earlier this year.
Verstappen and Russell regularly played padel together alongside Alex Albon and Lando Norris (Image: Instagram/maxverstappen1)
Russell denies off-track rivalries
While Russell maintains relationships with several drivers on the grid considering they’ve grown up with each other, the Brit previously insisted that any rivalry that ensues stays on the track. Back in 2022, he said: “We’ve had no reason, for the time being, not to be friendly with one another,” Russell said. “We are rivals on track.
“But the things that cause these greater rivalries are, generally speaking, on-track incidents. “And for whatever reason, none of us have had any disagreements or on-track incidents over the years. “I know Charles and Max [Verstappen] maybe had a few in karting when they were battling.”
Two years on from his comments, the current state of his relationship with Verstappen speaks to the sheer competitiveness that the pair possess when it comes to Formula One. The 2024 season comes to a head in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (December 8) with any meetings between the drivers on the paddocks set to grab the headlines.