Russell reveals explict threat amid ongoing feud with Verstappen

Max Verstappen and George Russell’s war of words has reached boiling point in Abu Dhabi, with the Red Bull driver labelling Russell’s behaviour in Qatar as “unacceptable”, while the Mercedes driver hit back, revealing the four-time world champion’s threat to “put me on my f****** head in the wall”.

A fresh batch of insults has been cooked up in the days following the heated argument between Max Verstappen and George Russell, with the unprecedented ‘beef’ between the two drivers not stemming from the decision to penalise the Dutchman, but rather the Brit’s campaign in favour of the demotion.  

Back in Qatar, Verstappen claimed his ninth victory of the season, however, it wasn’t his trip to the top step that made headlines, but rather his inability to bite his tongue during his post-race interviews.

“I couldn’t believe that I got it, but in a way, I was also not surprised anymore in the world that I live in,” Verstappen said, questioned on his one-place grid drop from Pole.

“I’m not happy with it, but at one point or another, you have to just turn the page.

“It was clear-cut that around me there were different scenarios going on as well, with people having colder tyres and stuff, so they have to push anyway. I didn’t want to then cause a scene into the last corner and for nobody to have a lap.

“I was quite surprised, when sitting there in the stewards’ room, what was all going on. 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 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.”

Another altercation between the two was said to have taken place in the drivers’ parade holding room when Verstappen reportedly said “I hope you and your FIA buddies are happy”.

Max Verstappen and George Russell sit side-by-side in the press conference after qualifying in Qatar. Image: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Speaking to the Dutch media, he went on to say “[Russell] acts decent in front of the camera here, but when you talk to him personally, he is it is a different person”, adding: “I can’t stand that. In that case you can better f**k off”.

The phrase, ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’ is one both drivers clearly didn’t familiarise themselves with before rocking up to Media Day in Abu Dhabi, with Russell the first to rebut his competitor’s Qatari words.

“I find it all quite ironic, considering Saturday night he said he’s going to purposely go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, ‘put me on my f****** head in the wall,’” Russell said, echoing his Qatar sentiments that he had been “expecting a crash” with the angered Red Bull driver.

“To question somebody’s integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before, I find it 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, very first race, the car wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis, slamming his team.

“As I said, for me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary, because what happens on track, we fight hard. It’s part of racing.

“What happens in the steward’s room? You fight hard, but it’s never personal. But you know, he’s taking it too far now.”

When asked if he regretted airing the pair’s dirty laundry so publicly, Verstappen said he had no such feelings, instead adding that he would have gone in harder on the #63 had he known he would win on the Sunday.

“No regrets at all, because I meant everything I said, and it’s still the same,” Verstappen affirmed.

“If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race result. 

“I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in a Stewards’ room. 

“For me, that was so unacceptable, because I mean, we’re all racing drivers, we all have a lot of respect for each other, we even play sports together, you travel together. 

“And of course, you have moments where you get together, you crash or whatever. You’re not happy. 

“In my whole career, I’ve never experienced what I have experienced in the Stewards’ room in Qatar. And for me, that was really unacceptable.”

Race winner Max Verstappen celebrated in parc ferme after the Qatar Grand Prix. Image: Joe Portlock/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

Despite refusing to talk about the emotions surrounding his fourth championship win in Las Vegas again, Verstappen was more than open to continuing the discussion on Russell who he said was “acting like the most dangerous situation just happened and he almost killed himself”.

It was during yesterday’s press conference that the Dutchman clarified the issue had nothing to do with Russell’s role as the director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association.

“No, it has nothing to do with him being the director of the GPDA,” Verstappen said. 

“I just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about why I was doing what I was doing. 

“But clearly, it had an influence to them. 

“Yeah, it was just really not nice and actually very shocking what was going on there.”

The fued also carried over to their respective Team Principals’, with Toto Wolff defending his driver by calling Christian Horner a “yapping little terrier” for accusing Russell of hysterics.

Verstappen was supported by his fellow drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg one to say he doesn’t understand the stewards’ decision.

“Like Max explained, in Qatar, there was a lot of different, you know, run profiles, people doing all sorts of different stuff,” the Haas driver explained. 

“And, you know, it’s very easy to get tangled up, but we drivers know that too and I think we also have to build that in and, you know, leave some buffer. 

“And, yeah, I don’t understand why Max got a penalty there.”

As for Lando Norris, the Brit said he liked the entertainment of the situation, admitting “I enjoy watching them argue like they do”.

“I hope it doesn’t get smoothed out, I hope they stay fighting and arguing because it’s amusing to watch,” Norris said.

The young Brit also shared a post of the F1 drivers dining out together last night, captioning the post: “2024 dinner! And yes, the two you’re thinking about were sat as far away from each other as possible”.

Seeing if Verstappen and Russell’s words translate to the race track will be a point everyone makes sure to look out for this weekend, with the opening practice session of the season finale kicking off at 20:30 AEDT tonight.  

Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Schedule: 

Friday, December 6:

FP1: 20:30 – 21:30

Saturday, December 7:

FP2: 00:00 – 01:00

FP3: 21:30 – 22:30

Sunday, December 8:

Qualifying: 01:00 – 02:00

Monday, December 9:

Race: 00:00

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