George Russell not changing style despite ‘pretty upset’ Max Verstappen reaction

George Russell said he has no interest in changing his driving style even if it drew the ire of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Following the sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, an angry Verstappen approached Russell after the two made contact with the Dutchman not pleased over the attacking style of his Mercedes counterpart.

Russell defended his actions by stating his tyres were cold but Verstappen refuted that and said that everyone’s tyres were cold before calling the Brit a “d**khead.”

Tensions have simmered since but Russell has reaffirmed that he is not going to change his racing style even after the altercation with Verstappen.

“I will continue racing the same way as I always would,” Russell said before the Miami Grand Prix.

“A lot has been said about that coming together but from my side it was pretty straightforward. I went for a move, got the move done and moved on.

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“Obviously he was pretty upset about it but that’s racing and these things happen. We’re all here to fight.”

The incident in Baku was the only close incident between both drivers this season given the relative pace difference between the W14 and the RB19 and Russell said the team “need to continue to do a better job.”

“It’s fine margins,” the 25-year-old said. “We missed out on Q3 [in Baku] by four milliseconds and that would have been a totally different story.

“Had we got into Q3 we probably could have qualified inside the top six but clearly, our car isn’t quick enough. We need to continue to do a better job and we’ll go again this weekend.

“Hopefully, it’ll be a slightly smoother weekend and we can battle it out with Aston and Ferrari.”