George Russell claimed that Max Verstappen’s fans bombarded Mercedes staff with messages after the two F1 stars had an explosive public falling out at the end of last season
George Russell claimed that Max Verstappen’s fans sent hoards of online messages to Mercedes staff following their explosive F1 fallout.
Russell and Verstappen were embroiled in a bitter back and forth at the end of the 2024 season with the Mercedes driver calling the four-time world champion a “bully”. Verstappen had threatened to purposely crash into the Brit after taking a dislike to Russell’s behaviour in the steward’s room, which saw the Dutchman receive a one-place grid penalty for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The animosity between the two spilt over publicly, and Russell has claimed that Dutch fans hounded Mercedes staff with messages, seemingly regarding their driver’s hostile row with their hero.
“I have got to be honest,” Russell told Autosport. “I didn’t see any of it myself, but I do know there was a lot of criticism out there.
“I know members of my team were receiving emails from Dutch fans. But I think that’s a part of sport and life, really, isn’t it.
“That’s something we accept. And you can choose to read it and let it have an emotional impact on you, even if you laugh at the comments, that has an impact on you.
“So I just have this view and mentality that even with the positive comments, does it actually make me drive faster? Probably not, and there are more negative than positive most of the time, so I do really try and avoid it.”
Russell has also warned Verstappen that he will not take threats following their clash at the end of last year. Asked if he had cleared the air with Verstappen since the final race of last season in December, Russell said: “No, I haven’t spoken (to him). I have no concerns about him or his driving – that happened last year and I want to focus on myself.
“But obviously things got out of line at the end of last year, and I made it pretty clear that I’m not going to take it. But now it’s 2025 and I’m focused on the job and the job is to win. So I’m not going to change my approach, fighting him, or fighting any other drivers. The goal is the same.”