GEORGE RUSSELL HAS accused Max Verstappen of threatening to deliberately crash into him, after the Dutchman refused to back down over his criticism of the Mercedes driver.
Russell accused Verstappen of blocking him dangerously during qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix last week, a claim that resulted in a stewardsโ investigation and Verstappen losing pole position to Russell.
The Red Bull driver said ahead of this weekendโs season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Russell had lied to the stewards and that he had โno regretsโ over his comments in Doha, when he said he had โlost all respectโ for the Briton.
Russell hit back at Verstappenโs latest tirade, saying the four-time world champion was a bully who threatened to crash into him on purpose.
โI find it all quite ironic considering (that on) Saturday night he said heโs going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, โPut me on my (expletive) head in the wallโ,โ said the Mercedes driver.
โSo to question someoneโs integrity as a person while saying comments like that the day before, I find very ironic.
โIโm not going to sit here and accept it. People have been bullied by Max for years now and you canโt question his driving abilities, but he canโt deal with adversity.
โWhenever anything has gone against himโฆ he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race his car wasnโt dominant, crashing into Lewis, slamming his team.
โFor me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary because what happens on track โ and we fight hard โ itโs part of racingโฆ But heโs taken it too far now.โ
Verstappen went on to claim victory in Qatar from second on the grid alongside Russell who, he claimed, had persuaded the stewards to penalise him.
โI have no regrets at all, because I meant everything I said,โ said Verstappen.
โIf I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more!
โKnowing the outcome of the race, I still canโt believe that someone can be like that in the stewardsโ room.
โFor me, that was so unacceptable because, I mean, we are all racing drivers.
โWe have a lot of respect for each other. We even play sports together, travel togetherโฆ and, of course, you have moments where you get together and crash or whatever when you are not happyโฆ
โI just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about what I was doing, but it clearly had an influence on them.โ
Russell insisted he would not attempt to clear the air with his rival, saying it was Verstappenโs โproblem to deal withโ.
โYou can go beyond the line in making a slight misjudgement, but going out of your way to say youโll purposefully crash into someone and put them on their head is beyond the line.โ
Welcome on board Tom, we wish you well!!
Good choice not to say anything publicly. We would been booed in every ground. Welcome aboard Tom.