GEORGE RUSSELL dropped a bombshell accusation that Max Verstappen said he would “put his head in the f***ing wall” in Qatar.
The ugly row between the Brit and the Red Bull driver has exploded into an all out war ahead of this weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
George Russell has hit out at Max VerstappenGetty
Russell has labelled Verstappen ‘violent’, ‘aggressive’ and a ‘bully’AFP
Verstappen, right, was handed a one-place grid penalty in Qatar after he and Russell went before the stewardsGetty
It all started last time out in Qatar when Verstappen was hit with a one-place grid penalty after driving “unnecessarily slowly” and blocking Russell in qualifying.
Despite qualifying in pole position for his first race as a four-time world champion, Verstappen was forced to start the race from second, although he went on to win it.
Russell said: “I have known Max for a long time and I know what he is capable of and he said to me he is going to purposely go out of his way to crash into me and put my f***ing head in the wall.
“I knew that was a bit of a heat in the moment thing but when I went to see him the next day in the driver’s parade I saw in his eyes that he means it.
“He is a four time world champion and when I compare his actions to Lewis Hamilton, Lewis is the sort of world champion that I aspire to be like. The way he fought Max in 2021, hard and fair but never beyond the line.
“I’ve got an eight-year-old nephew who has just started go karting, who watches all of my races.
“For a world champion to be saying he’s going to go out of his way to crash into someone and put them on their eff-ing head that is not the sort of role models we should be.”
Verstappen has been involved with a number of spats this season, including in Budapest in July when he crashed into Hamilton and fought with his own team on the radio.
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Russell added: “The second he does not have the fastest car, Budapest for example. He crashes into Lewis, slams his whole team and he loses the plot.
“Straight away after that race 25 percent of his engineering team were sending their CV’s to Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin because they said they can’t deal with a guy like that.
“Lewis stood up to him in 2021, and Lewis lost that championship unfairly. Could you imagine the roles being reversed? I mean, [Michael] Masi would be fearing for his life.”
Verstappen doubled down on his scathing attack of the Mercedes driver, calling him a “backstabber” and a “loser”.
The Dutchman also accused the Mercedes driver of “lying” to influence the stewards’ decision to penalise him.
Verstappen said: “No [I have no regrets]. I meant every word. I’ve never experienced anything like that from the stewards.
“I found his behaviour really unacceptable.
“It has nothing to do with him being head of the drivers’ association [Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, of which Russell is a director]. He simply lied about what he was or wasn’t doing, and certainly influenced the stewards.
“He’s backstabber. You shouldn’t talk too much about people like that, because they’re just losers.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff crashed Russell’s press conference, dubbing Christian Horner a “yapping little terrier” after the Red Bull boss called the Brit “hysterical”.
SunSport has approached the FIA for a comment on Russell’s accusation but they are yet to respond.