British and Mercedes driver George Russell has sent a powerful message to Max Verstappen and the rest of the F1 grid ahead of this weekend’s race in Miami, after last weekend’s battle with Verstappen in Baku’s sprint race.
The Brit forced his way past the current world champion on the opening lap of the sprint, whilst making contact, only to be overtaken by him a couple of laps later. The collision damaged the sidepod of the Red Bull which prevented Verstappen from challenging his team-mate Sergio Perez for the win.
As a result, the two drivers had a heated discussion after the race where Verstappen accused Russell of lacking “common sense” as he knew that the Red Bull has such an advantage and therefore would be overtaken soon or later.
Russell has also added that the hot-headed Dutchman used the F-word numerous times and insulted him as the Mercedes driver walked away.
In an interview on Thursday at the Miami Grand Prix Russell explained:
“He has had his fair share of giving moves like that and being tough and hard at racing. It’s a little bit poor to see how he spat his dummy out when he got something back in the same regard.
The British driver added: “Something you learn as a kid is if you give something you’ve got to be prepared to take it as well.”
“I thought it was good racing and it was the only thing that happened that weekend, it was pretty boring otherwise.”
As the teams and drivers prepare for this weekend, George Russell ended the interview with a strong message to Max Verstappen: “I am not just going to wave him by because he’s Max Verstappen in a Red Bull. I am here to fight and win.”