Verstappen v Russell conflict escalates with big accusations made – round-up
Max Verstappen and George Russell escalated their argument from Qatar when they arrived in Abu Dhabi.
Well, if you missed any of the F1 news action from media day in Abu Dhabi, you’ve come to the right place to catch up on the drama.
Instead of the usual pre-race platitudes ahead of the final round of the year, Max Verstappen and George Russell decided to take their argument from Qatar one or two steps further. With additional reporting from Thomas Maher on the ground at the Yas Marina Circuit, let’s catch you up.
F1 news: Max Verstappen accuses George Russell of ‘lying’ in Qatar
It all started in the press conference in Abu Dhabi, when Verstappen doubled down on his comments from the last race, having said he “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver after their meeting with the stewards.
When asked if there was anything he would change about last weekend, he told media including PlanetF1.com: “No, no regrets at all! Because I meant everything I said, and it’s still the same. If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race results.
“So I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in the 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, you know, play sports together. You travel together. 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.”
Read more: Max Verstappen takes latest shot at ‘lying’ George Russell in new tactical plan reveal
George Russell fights back with violent claim of what Verstappen threatened him
In an early appearance in front of media in Abu Dhabi, Russell claimed Verstappen issued a violent threat against him after their meeting with the stewards in Qatar.
As per ESPN, he said: “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 fucking head in the wall.’
“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.”
Read more: Russell claims Verstappen threatened to ‘put me on my f**king head in the wall’
Russell delivers extraordinary press conference as he hits back at Verstappen
While speaking to media including PlanetF1.com, Russell went even further in his assessment of the Red Bull driver – claiming he has seen Verstappen act as he has in their days as karting rivals, double down in saying he’s been able to “bully” other drivers, and much, much more.
Here’s just a snippet: “He cannot deal with adversity. He’s had the most dominant car in recent history for two and a half years. I’m not questioning his driving abilities one single bit, but the second he does not have the fastest car… Let’s take Budapest as an example.
“He crashes into Lewis, he slams his whole team, and he loses the plot. You know, straight away after that race, 25% of his engineering team were sending their CVs to Mercedes, to McLaren, to Aston Martin, because they said they can’t deal with a guy like that.”
The full transcript really is worth a read, because it is quite something from the Mercedes driver.
Read more: George Russell makes another Verstappen accusation as war of words continues
Toto Wolff weighs in as Christian Horner in the firing line
Toto Wolff, sat next to Russell in an extraordinary press conference earlier on Thursday, hit out at the Red Bull team principal for describing Russell’s behaviour as “hysterical” in the stewards’ meeting at the weekend.
“Why does he [Christian] feel entitled to comment about my driver? How does that come?”
Wolff gazed out into the assembled journalists to conclude his thought with a stern expression as he carefully enunciated and emphasised the words: “Yapping little terrier.”
“Thinking about it, spending 90 seconds to think about it… always something to say.”
We get the feeling this one might not be over yet.
Read more: Horner a ‘yappy little terrier’ as Toto Wolff joins Verstappen v Russell battle
K-Mag’s new drive revealed for the 2025 season
For a complete gear change away from Formula 1’s newest ‘Duel in the Desert’, there was an actual piece of driver news to bring you as Kevin Magnussen confirmed his future away from the F1 grid.
He’ll be joining BMW as a factory driver in their LMDh programme next season, which straddles both the IMSA and World Endurance Championship series – with his first start set to be at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.
His full schedule is yet to be confirmed, but Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu revealed they are still in talks with him over continuing with the team in an unspecified role next season, which may even include F1 testing – though all will be revealed in time.
Read more: Kevin Magnussen 2025 drive announced as Haas F1 talks continue
