George Russell claims ‘bully’ Max Verstappen made chilling ‘crash’ risk as F1 warfare erupts
George Russell has accused Max Verstappen of making a chilling threat as their rivalry has taken a nasty turn before the final race in Abu Dhabi.
The Mercedes ace shockingly alleged that Verstappen warned him he would ‘put you on your f***ing head in the wall’ after their row in Qatar escalated. Verstappen had criticised Russell’s behaviour when he was hit with a one-place grid penalty by the stewards following a qualifying incident between them.
This cost the Dutchman pole position, but he still managed to clinch victory in Qatar whilst Russell finished fourth. Verstappen continued their spat after they were called to the stewards, with the four-time champion declaring he had “lost all respect” for Russell after the disagreement.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton shares his true feelings on Mercedes after grim season for F1 icon
READ MORE: Max Verstappen’s stunning WAG shows true colours with response to fourth world title
“You know what it is? He acts decent in front of the camera here, but when you talk to him personally, he is it is a different person…” Verstappen told Dutch TV. “I can’t stand that. In that case you can better f*** off.”
In retaliation, the 26 year old Mercedes star revealed what Verstappen, 27, said to him afterwards as tensions looked set to erupt between the two racers, reports the Express.
(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“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 disclosed 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.”
The incensed Brit also labelled Verstappen as a ‘bully’ towards his fellow racers and detailed his inability to handle challenging situations, which he alleges often leads to Verstappen’s outbursts.
(Image: Formula 1 via Getty Images)
“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 2021, Brazil 2021 – he lashes out,” he continued.
“Budapest this year, the very first race the car wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis [Hamilton], slamming his team. As I said, for me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary.”
Verstappen hasn’t held back in expressing his dissatisfaction with Russell either. The world champion accused the Brit of trying to ‘screw him over’ in the stewards’ room.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I was quite surprised when sitting there in the stewards’ room [about] what was all going on,” he expressed last weekend. “Honestly, [it was] very disappointing because I think we’re all here, we respect each other a lot.”
“And of course, I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life, in my career, with people that I’ve raced and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. And that for me… I lost all respect.”
Don’t miss a thing with sport updates!
Want to keep up with all of the latest sport news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Off the Ball email newsletter!
From darts, boxing and UFC, to snooker, F1 and golf, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that’s it, job done. You’ll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our Daily Star Football email for all the latest transfer news and breaking stories, right here
When asked if he wanted to retract his comments, Verstappen stood firm. “No, no regrets at all, because I meant everything I said and it’s still the same,” he said in Abu Dhabi. “If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race result.”
The pair will have a chance to sort their differences on the race track as we head to the Yas Marina circuit this weekend. Although fans of the sport would have loved to see this drama play out all season, they still have time to see Russell and Verstappen go wheel-to-wheel on Sunday.
