Max Verstappen insists that things are ‘not clarified’ between himself and George Russell after the Red Bull star reacted angrily to a coming together during the Azerbaijan sprint race on Saturday. Russell and Verstappen came face to face after the chequered flag, although it seems as though the Mercedes man’s apology did not resolve the issue.
Things generally haven’t gone Verstappen’s way since drivers descended on Baku. Despite winning two of the first three available Grands Prix this season, the Dutchman lagged behind Charles Leclerc in both Friday qualifying and Saturday’s sprint shootout.
It meant that Verstappen started third on the grid for the sprint race later on Saturday, and he immediately came under attack from Russell, who lined up fourth. A tense battle during the first three corners culminated in the Mercedes star going up the inside in Turn 3 and moving up to third, but he controversially clipped the reigning double world champion on his way past.
Verstappen raged at the manoeuvre, telling his team to ‘f***ing report’ the Englishman, but to no avail. He eventually came back to clinch third as Russell dropped down a place at the end of the 17-lap shootout.
But tensions boiled over after the chequered flag as Verstappen confronted Russell in the paddock, calling him a ‘d***head’. Once the dust settled, cameras revealed that the lap-one collision had opened up a gaping hole in the Red Bull’s sidepod. Verstappen’s post-race interview with Sky Sports was fiery as he refused to accept the 25-year-old’s apology.
When asked whether harmony had been restored with Russell, an angry Verstappen responded: “No, it’s not clarified. I don’t understand why you need to take so many risks, understeering into my sidepod and creating a hole.
“He had a beautiful way of explaining; ‘Oh, I locked up, look at the onboard’. But it’s fine. We got some good points but it is what it is.”
Russell was comparatively composed when giving his take on the incident after the race, insisting that the Dutchman would have challenged him in similar fashion if the shoe had been on the other foot. “I was down the inside and I think as a driver, I’m here to fight and win and I’m not going to hold back just because he’s leading the championship,” he told Sky Sports.
“I was still quite surprised he was trying to hold it around the outside. You know, we’re on a street circuit. He’s got a lot more to lose than I have. None of the contact was intentional, I was doing my best to have a clean fight, I was quite surprised he was resistant of position as I was on the inside.
“I was surprised as to why he was so angry to be honest. He still finished the race in P3, you know it’s a difficult situation, he’s got enough experience to know if he’s trying to overtake a guy on the outside, there’s a risk that the guy on the inside is going to run wide and into you, and I don’t think anything would have been any different had positions been reversed.”