ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Mercedes F1 driver George Russell claims Red Bull’s Max Verstappen threatened to crash into him and “put you in your f***ing head within the wall” after their stewards’ listening to forward of the Qatar Grand Prix and that “folks have been bullied by Max for years now.”
Four-time world champion Verstappen acquired a one-place grid penalty in Qatar final week after Russell claimed the Red Bull driver intentionally drove slowly in entrance of him throughout qualifying. The penalty dropped Verstappen behind Russell, who was promoted to pole place.
While Verstappen gained the race, he stated afterward that he had “misplaced all respect” for Russell and he had “by no means seen somebody attempting to screw somebody over that onerous” in a gathering with the stewards.
But talking to pick out media on Thursday, together with The Athletic, forward of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Russell responded publicly for the primary time to Verstappen’s feedback.
“I discover all of it fairly ironic, seeing as Saturday night time he stated he was going to purposefully exit of his method to crash into me and ‘put me on my f***ing head within the wall,’” Russell stated. “So to query someone’s integrity as an individual whereas saying feedback like that the day earlier than, I discover, may be very ironic, and I’m not going to take a seat right here and settle for it.
“People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you’ll’t query his driving skills. But he can’t cope with adversity. Whenever something has gone in opposition to him — Jeddah ’21, Brazil ’21 — he lashes out. Budapest this 12 months, the very first race the automotive wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis (Hamilton), slamming his workforce … As I stated, for me, these feedback on Saturday night time and Sunday have been completely disrespectful and pointless.”
Red Bull declined to touch upon Russell’s allegations when approached by The Athletic forward of publication.
Verstappen later responded to Russell’s feedback in his common Dutch media session, held on the finish of every Thursday. According to De Telegraaf, when the quote about placing Russell within the wall was put to Verstappen, he stated it was “not true, I didn’t say it like that. He’s exaggerating once more.”
Verstappen went on to say that Russell was a “backstabber” for his feedback. “The manner he brings up all this nonsense, he’s only a loser,” Verstappen stated. “He lies and cobbles issues collectively that don’t add up. I solely voiced my opinion about his habits with the stewards. Clearly, he couldn’t deal with that.”
The pair spoke after qualifying in Qatar (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto through Getty Images)
Russell stated that Verstappen had “taken it too far” along with his newest feedback however that he had little interest in talking to the Dutchman because it was “his drawback to cope with.” He characterised what Verstappen stated as a “private assault” that prompted him to wish to set the report straight.
Asked by The Athletic to make clear when Verstappen made the feedback to him, Russell claimed they have been made privately following the stewards’ listening to.
“(It was) to me privately, yeah, straight out of the stewards,” Russell stated. “He stated, ‘I don’t know why you’d wish to screw me like this, I’m so upset in you. I used to be going to not even race you tomorrow, I used to be going to allow you to by, however now, if I’ve to, I’ll purposely exit of my method to put you in your f***ing head within the wall.’
“So, I imply… as I stated, I don’t perceive why he was so unnecessarily aggressive and violent in that regard.”
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Before Russell’s quotes have been revealed publicly, Verstappen was requested typically in his pre-race press availability about his interplay with Russell following the listening to, to which he stated he had “no regrets in any respect” as a result of “I meant the whole lot I stated.”
“And it’s nonetheless the identical,” Verstappen stated. “If I needed to do it once more, possibly I’d’ve stated much more, figuring out the end result of the race outcomes. I nonetheless can’t imagine that somebody might be like that within the stewards’ room.
“For me, that was so unacceptable as a result of, I imply, we’re all racing drivers, all of us have a number of respect for one another, we even play sports activities collectively, you understand, you journey collectively, and naturally, you’ve moments the place you get collectively, you crash, you’re not comfortable.
“In my entire profession, I’ve by no means skilled what I’ve skilled within the stewards’ room in Qatar. And for me, that was actually unacceptable.”
Russell’s feedback come on the finish of an F1 season that had seen Verstappen’s on-track conduct positioned within the highlight on a number of events, most not too long ago on the Mexico City Grand Prix when the Dutchman was penalized twice for his racing strikes in opposition to Lando Norris.
Verstappen beforehand confronted criticism for his actions on-track when preventing in opposition to Lewis Hamilton, Russell’s Mercedes team-mate, for the world championship in 2021, with Russell referring to incidents at that 12 months’s Saudi Arabian and Brazilian Grands Prix.
Verstappen went on to win the race in Qatar (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
“We’ve acquired a man who’s on the highest of this sport who feels he’s above the legislation, and I don’t suppose that’s proper,” Russell stated.
“I love his on-track battles and when he’s arduous and aggressive. But what we noticed in the long run of the season in ’21 or what we noticed in Mexico with Lando, they weren’t arduous, aggressive manoeuvres. They have been ‘do or die. I’m keen to take this man out,’ which I don’t suppose is the best way we should always go racing.”
Russell additionally claimed he wished to make a stand in opposition to Verstappen to set an instance for future generations of drivers.
“I’m not going to simply accept him throwing remarks and feedback round like this like they’re nothing,” Russell stated. “And we’ve acquired to do not forget that we’re the top of this sport. This weekend for instance in Mercedes, we’ve acquired two junior drivers right here, they’re wanting as much as us. That shouldn’t be what we ought to be inspiring into the eight-, nine-, 10-year-olds who watch Formula One.
“I’ve acquired my nephew, eight years outdated, simply beginning to get into go-karting and watches each race. That shouldn’t be the way it ought to be.”
Russell spoke additional about Verstappen in his scheduled media session at Mercedes’ hospitality unit later within the day and was joined unexpectedly by his workforce principal, Toto Wolff.
Wolff took subject with the feedback made by his Red Bull counterpart, Christian Horner, about Russell’s actions within the stewards’ room. Horner claimed on Sunday night time that Verstappen’s penalty “was extra based mostly on hysterics from George, who has been fairly hysterical this weekend.”
Wolff stated there was “all the time one other facet” in penalty debates and that it was the responsibility of the workforce principal to think about that with their driver.
“If you don’t do this, you’re falling wanting your function,” Wolff stated. “It’s simply weak. At the top, why does he really feel entitled to remark about my driver? How does that come?
“But fascinated by it, I’ve spent 90 seconds to consider it… Yapping little terrier. Always one thing to say.”
Asked why he felt the necessity to communicate up with Russell, Wolff replied: “There is a factor between drivers, and that is George and Max, and I don’t wish to become involved in that, but when the opposite workforce principal calls George hysterical, that is the place he crosses a line for me.
“Now, his forte for certain shouldn’t be mental psychoanalysis, however that’s fairly a phrase. How dare you touch upon the mind-set of my driver.”
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Max Verstappen responds to Qatar qualifying penalty: “I misplaced all respect”
(Top photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto through Getty Images)
