Russell’s Verstappen Spat Could Be Political

The spotlight is shining ever more brightly on George Russell in the wake of his public spat with Max Verstappen.

The saga, in which the Mercedes driver furiously accused Verstappen of threatening him with “violence” and a crash in Qatar over a qualifying penalty, has now completely pulled in their respective F1 team bosses.

Toto Wolff (Mercedes) accused Red Bull’s Christian Horner of “yapping” like a “little terrier” for calling Russell “hysterical”. In response, Horner said in Abu Dhabi on Friday: “I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf.”

It was Russell, though, who accused quadruple world champion Verstappen of being a “bully” and threatening to “put me on my f—— head in the wall” at the start in Qatar.

“I think Russell’s being a bit intense,” former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde told Viaplay. “He is really going way too far.”

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko, predictably, sided with his driver. “I believe him when he says that Russell didn’t stick to the truth in his portrayal of events,” he told Sport1.

“Max is going to be a father, but that will only make his naturally strong character even stronger. He doesn’t let himself be manipulated and always says what he thinks,” Marko added.

Many in the paddock agree. “Russell reacted too sensitively,” said former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. “He’s playing the drama queen a little too much.”

Lando Norris added: “I don’t think Max is trying to intimidate anyone. He just says it as it is, even if these days people don’t always want to hear the truth.”

It is also emerging that when the F1 drivers met for their end-of-season dinner just days ago, Verstappen said “Hi George” – but the British driver moved his chair to sit at the opposite end of the table.

Dutch racing driver Indy Dontje told Ziggo Sport that Russell’s behaviour may well disqualify him from representing all the F1 stars as senior director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

“That’s a bit of a problem now, because in principle he should represent the group of drivers, but he has indicated that he has no respect for one of them,” said the GT3 driver.

It is believed the FIA is not interested in intervening in the spat – while Dontje thinks Russell’s motivation may well be political. “Maybe he knows that Max is coming that way in 2026,” he said, referring to rumours Verstappen could sign for Mercedes.

“If he ends up sitting next to Max, it’s war. Otherwise, he could even take his seat away. He is setting something up,” the 32-year-old speculated.

Red Bull’s Marko is keen to sweep the matter under the rug now.

“We have to focus on the car,” he said. “If the drivers are fighting with each other, it has nothing to do with fixing the technical problems with our car.”