Russell buries the hatchet with Verstappen: "I don't care about him"

Is this the end of the "clash" between George Russell and Max Verstappen ? For several weeks, the two men have been rubbing shoulders on the track, but especially off it. It all started during qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix at the end of November 2024. Max Verstappen, who took pole position, was given a one-place grid penalty for hindering the Briton on his flying lap. A penalty that the driver Red Bull, although already titled, had a hard time swallowing: after his victory on the Losail circuit the next day, he had declared to have "lost all respect" for the pilot Mercedes.

Max Verstappen had notably denounced George Russell's attitude to the stewards. "I was quite surprised to see what was happening in the marshals' room. I've been in that room many times in my life, in my career, with people who have driven and I've never seen [a driver] try to turn someone upside down with such determination."

A few days later, George Russell had offered a scathing response. "It's quite ironic because on Saturday [in Qatar], he said he was going to do everything he could to hit me and, I quote, put 'my f**king head into the wall' -, had he launched. So to question someone's integrity while making such comments the day before, I find that very ironic, and I'm not going to sit back and accept it." Since then, the relationship between the two men seemed broken and icy, and The "clash" even reached the team directors, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, who never miss an opportunity to argue.

Tensions eased, but…

Two months later, Max Verstappen and George Russell were reunited again this Tuesday for the ceremony F1 75 Live, held at the O2 Arena in London. And tensions finally seem to have eased between the two men. At a press conference, George Russell was the first of the two to speak out about his Dutch counterpart.

"I haven't spoken to Max Verstappen. I have no concerns about him or his driving or anything. The clash happened last year and I want to focus on myself., confided the Briton. Obviously, things that I felt got out of hand at the end of the year. And I was pretty clear that I wasn't going to accept that. But now it's 2025 and I'm focused on my job. That job is to win. So I'm not going to change my approach to fight him or other riders. The goal remains the same. We'll see when we get to Melbourne."

Present to close the press conference, Max Verstappen affirmed for his part that "everything was fine" with George Russell, even if the two men no longer really communicate. “Honestly, I don’t intend to add fuel to the fire in February. I’m still enjoying the time I’ve had away from Formula 1 and preparing for the season. So I honestly have nothing to say about that.”

If the hatchet has been buried - at least on the surface - between George Russell and Max Verstappen, that did not prevent the master of ceremonies, Jack Whitehall, from bringing it up again in front of the world. "Smile, it could have been worse, they didn't seat you next to George Russell, the British comedian said to the Dutch pilot, before continuing: Have you ever kissed and made up? I love that argument, by the way. How can you argue with George Russell? He's the nicest guy ever!" A joke that clearly didn't make the reigning world champion laugh...

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