George Russell has claimed his Formula One rival Max Verstappen threatened him with violence during the escalating tensions between the drivers at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver said the newly crowned world champion told him “he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘put me on my fucking head in the wall’”.
The accusations come after the Briton and Verstappen were embroiled in a dispute in qualifying for the race last weekend. The Dutchman lost pole position for blocking Russell during qualifying, with both drivers seeking out the stewards to discuss the incident. Verstappen – who vented his ire on Dutch television – went on to win the race but only after a one-place grid penalty saw him start behind Russell.
However, Russell has told Espn that Verstappen said he would hurt him during the race after leaving the stewards room. “I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he said he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and ‘Put me on my fucking head in the wall’,” Russell said.
“So to question somebody’s integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before, I find is 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, he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race the car wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis [Hamilton], slamming his team … As I said those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary. Because what happens on track, we fight hard, that’s part of racing. What happens in the stewards’ room, you fight hard, but it’s never personal. But he’s taken it too far now.”
Russell had wanted the incident to remain private until he saw Verstappen’s outburst in the media. “I honestly just want to set the record straight,” said Russell, “because it’s just a total double standard that he has for the regulations, and just thinking he is above everybody else.”
Red Bull have yet to respond to Russell’s allegations.
Meanwhile, Hamilton had admitted he has struggled to control his emotions this season as he prepares to bring the curtain down on a glittering 12-year stay at Mercedes. The 39-year-old, who signed a deal to join Ferrari from 2025 before the season, has won six of his seven world championships with the Silver Arrows but his final campaign with the team has not been plain sailing.
Hamilton made the startling admission in Qatar last weekend that “I am definitely not fast any more” after hinting in Brazil that he would not even finish the season with Mercedes. His struggles continued last time out, where a string of mistakes and misfortune left him at the back of the field and he asked his team to retire the car.
“It’s been a very emotional year for me and I don’t think I’ve been the best at handling my emotions this year,” Hamilton said. “You’ve seen the best of me and the worst of me, but I’m not going to apologise as I’m human.”
Hamilton admits he did not expect to find the season so challenging, having informed Mercedes and team principal Toto Wolff of his decision to leave ahead of the campaign.
“The first meeting with Toto at the beginning of the year was awkward so it was awkward from the get-go,” he added. “Ultimately I anticipated it would be difficult but massively underestimated how difficult it would be. Realising these are the last moments with the team, it’s hard to describe the feeling – not the greatest of course.”
Hamilton has been beaten by his team-mate Russell in 23 of the 29 qualifying sessions staged this season and is set to finish behind his compatriot in the championship.
This weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Hamilton’s 246th race with the team, with 84 victories and six world titles under his belt since joining from McLaren in 2013. “I want to finish the right way with Mercedes, these days will be super emotional. It’s a big unknown looking ahead, massive excitement,” Hamilton added. “It’s a dream scenario for any driver [joining Ferrari]. But it’s not an easy step to join a new team, it takes time to build relationships and learn the tools.”
