George Russell and Max Verstappen were involved in a heated clash in Qatar (Picture: Getty)
George Russell has branded Max Verstappen a ‘bully’ and claims his Formula One rival threatened to ‘put me on my f***ing head in the wall’ ahead of last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen – who had already won his fourth straight F1 World Drivers’ Championship – was slapped with a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell in qualifying in Lusail, meaning he missed out on pole position.
But the 27-year-old Red Bull driver would still go on to triumph after Lando Norris was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags.
After clinching his ninth victory of the season, an enraged Verstappen fumed that he had ‘lost all respect’ for Russell and was ‘very disappointed’ with the apparent role the Mercedes star had played in him being denied pole.
‘I was quite surprised when sitting there in the stewards’ room, what was all going on,’ Verstappen said.
‘Honestly, 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 have raced, and I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard.
‘And that for me… I lost all respect.’
Russell claims Verstappen threatened to physically hurt him (Picture: Getty)
In a separate interview with Dutch TV, Verstappen accused Russell of acting ‘decently’ in public but behaving like a ‘different person’ in the stewards room.
‘He always acts extremely polite in front of the cameras but if you sit together with him personally, he’s a completely different person,’ Verstappen said.
‘I truly can’t stand that. Then you might as well get lost.
‘I don’t want anything to do with you.’
Russell believes Verstappen has shown himself to be a ‘bully’ (Picture: Getty)
Russell had remained tight-lipped on his fallout with Verstappen in the stewards room but hit back at his rival on Thursday, alleging that the four-time world champion had threatened to physically harm him.
Reflecting on the qualifying session in question, Russell explained: ‘What he was doing was pretty clear. He was going too slow and he was on the racing line. We all have the rules to follow and he doesn’t follow it.
‘I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says, “I’m gonna purposefully crash into you, I’m gonna put you on your f***ing head in the wall”.
‘For me, that is unacceptable and he’s gone beyond the line here and I’m not going to accept it. Someone’s got to stand up to a guy like this before it gets out of control.’
Verstappen had already secured the championship title in Vegas (Picture: Getty)
The 26-year-old Brit added: ‘We went into the stewards and for the first five minutes, I didn’t say a word because they were only talking to Max and he was already and swearing at the stewards.
‘When they asked for my opinion I told them exactly the facts. I was following my delta time, we all have this lap time we have to follow.
‘They also say if you’re driving slow you need to move off the line and I wasn’t trying to get Max a penalty.
‘At this point in qualifying I was in first position. I don’t even think Max was in second position at this point. I was just trying to prepare my lap, he was 20 seconds too slow on his lap, he was parked in the middle, and I didn’t argue with the stewards.
Verstappen and Russell have known each other since junior racing (Picture: Getty)
‘But Max was very angry that I didn’t support him because he was expecting me to say, “No problem, what Max did was okay”.
‘It wasn’t crazy dangerous. Was the penalty harsh? Maybe it was a little bit harsh but these are the rules and we all have to follow them. I would love to go 20 second slower on my preparation lap to get my tyres ready but I didn’t.’
Russell went on to label Verstappen a ‘bully’ and claimed the Belgium-born driver had been allowed to ‘get away with murder’ for much of his career.
‘I went to speak with him on Sunday morning. At the drivers’ parade was myself, Max and Carlos and we almost laughed about it,’ he went on.
‘But I could see in his eyes that he was angry and the words that he said, he meant it. For me, that was very surprising.
‘I haven’t got him disqualified. It almost feels like he expects a double standard and if it’s not going his way then there’s no way. That’s not how the sport works.
‘I’ve known Max for 12 years, I’ve respected him all of this time, but now I’ve lost respect for him because we’re all fighting on track and it’s never personal. Now he’s made it personal.
‘Someone needs to stand up to a bully like this and, so far, people are letting him get away with murder.’
Verstappen has denied that he threatened to cause physical harm to Russell while speaking with Dutch media.
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