Clever George Russell trick uncovered after Max Verstappen team radio ‘hint’
George Russell has had a few run ins with Max Verstappen over the years
Mercedes driver George Russell has revealed that his team radio message targeting a tow from Max Verstappen’s car was “a hint” to the Red Bull pit wall.
Verstappen secured pole position ahead of Sunday’s title decider at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with McLaren driver Lando Norris starting in second.
George Russell reveals ‘hint to Red Bull’ during Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying
Norris holds a 12-point lead over Verstappen entering the final race of the season, with Oscar Piastri a further four points behind.
Norris will secure the championship by finishing on the podium at Yas Marina, with Verstappen needing to win the race and hoping that the McLaren driver finishes fourth or lower.
Russell, who has claimed two victories this season in Canada and Singapore, will start fourth in Abu Dhabi.
George Russell vs Andrea Kimi Antonelli: Mercedes head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
The Mercedes driver raised eyebrows ahead of the final runs of Q3 when he called for the team to position him directly behind Verstappen in the queue of cars over pit-to-car radio
“Try and get me behind Verstappen on his in lap,” Russell was heard telling Mercedes. “He’ll probably give me a tow.”
Speaking after the session, Russell revealed that his team radio call was intended as a message to Red Bull with Verstappen needing other cars to get between him and Norris if he is to stand a chance of winning the title on Sunday.
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “It was more of a hint to Red Bull and their pit wall to consider it, because obviously Max went early in Q3 run one, so he was in a position to do that and they obviously need somebody in the mix.”
Despite topping Q2, Russell conceded that he was never a realistic contender for pole in Abu Dhabi, admitting he pushed too hard on his final lap of qualifying.
He said: “It was tricky, to be honest.
“Realistically, I knew we weren’t in the fight with the top three. I was top of Q2 but those three drivers were on a used tyre.
“I overpushed in Q3 it wasn’t a clean session, but the result was never getting higher than P4.”
More on George Russell and Mercedes from PlanetF1.com
Verstappen starting ahead of Norris on the grid has raised the fascinating possibility of a repeat of Abu Dhabi 2016, when Lewis Hamilton famously drove his pace in the hope of backing Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg into the cars behind.
Rosberg held on to take second place to secure the title before announcing his retirement five days later.
Russell believes it would make sense for Verstappen to back Norris up and hope to force a mistake from the McLaren driver on Sunday.
He said: “If we finish Lap 1 in the order we start the race, then definitely.
“He’s not just going to drive off into the distance and hand Lando an easy podium, but everything can change after Lap 1.
“If Lando makes a good start and take the lead, the championship is done and dusted.
“We don’t have the pace, but I’m confident we’ll get the opportunities.
“I think backing up the pack, on a street track for example, is a very normal thing to do.
“In Singapore, you control the pace and then you try and extend the gap around the pit stops, so you don’t need to drive like a hooligan or dangerously to do that.
“You can just manage by three or four tenths more and that will condense [the field].
“At some tracks, you can easily drop half a second or a second at certain points without being dangerous, without causing risk to yourself.
“So you’d expect him to be doing that.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
Read next: Is Lando Norris going to choke?
