Ahead of the season opener in Australia, tensions between George Russell and Max Verstappen have risen once again.
The end of the 2024 Formula 1 season saw a feud between George Russell and Max Verstappen break out. What started with a controversial on-track incident in Qatar had a few heated stewards’ room exchanges.
This led to Verstappen stating he had lost “all respect” for his Mercedes rival. Russell also labelled the Dutch driver as a “bully.”
The beginning of this Rivalry
The friction between Russell and Verstappen began during qualifying last season in Qatar. Both drivers were on cooldown laps when Verstappen was unexpectedly in the path of the Briton unexpectedly.
Following this incident, the stewards penalised the Dutchman with a one-place grid drop. Following the penalty, Verstappen publicly criticised his rival for his actions in the stewards’ room.
He accused the Mercedes driver of being dishonest and “two-faced.” The Dutch driver’s frustrations continued, when he spoke to Dutch media outlets.
“He acts decent in front of the camera, but when you talk to him personally, he is a different person… I can’t stand that. In that case, you can better f**k off.”
Russell fired back at Verstappen during an press conference in Abu Dhabi. He revealed that Verstappen had threatened him in a moment of fury.
Russell, however, brushed off the aggression but maintained that Verstappen struggles to handle adversity.
“I’ve known Max for a long time, and I know what he’s capable of. And you know, he said to me, he’s gonna purposely go out his way to crash into me, ‘put me on my f**king head in the wall.”
George Russell went as far to say the 2021 title fight between Verstappen and Hamilton “enabled” the four-time champion to act in this way.
“Lewis stood up to him in 2021 and lost that championship unfairly. Could you imagine if the roles were reversed? Max would have reacted very differently.”
Russell vs Verstappen in 2025?
As the first race week of the season begins, the feud between the pair is set to be a storyline in 2025. However, Russell has admitted that the duo are yet to speak since the fallout. With the 27-year-old claiming he has no intention to reconcile with his rival.
“That happened last year. I want to focus on myself. We are not going back to being best mates, that’s for sure.”
“I wasn’t going to just stand and be bullied around. People seem to always back down to him. That’s just not how I go about my business.”
Whilst this rivalry was a talking point of 2024, both Mercedes and Red Bull have their sights set on a much bigger challenge, beating McLaren, a feat they believe will be a challenge.
“I don’t think either of us right now have a car capable of beating the McLaren,” Russell admitted
Feature Image Credit Red Bull Content Pool
