Max Verstappen says his feud with George Russell will “sort itself out” after an extraordinary war of words ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The pair were the talk of the paddock coming into the last race of the season following an incident in qualifying at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Russell accusing Verstappen of being “a bully” and threatening to intentionally crash into him.
Verstappen denied the accusation in a briefing with the Dutch media and chucked further insults back in Russell’s direction, having previously sparked the row by saying that he had “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver due to his conduct in the Qatar stewards’ hearing that resulted in the world champion being demoted from pole position.
Russell turned down a potential first opportunity for reconciliation at a drivers-only dinner in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening, at which he rejected an invitation to sit next to Verstappen.
However, the following evening at the Grand Prix Drivers Association end-of-season assembly, the pair posed together at the centre of a group photo.
Former F1 driver Alex Wurz, who along with Russell is a GPDA director, posted the photo to his X account with the caption: “Traditional GPDA End of Season assembly. #RacingUnited. For our sport, our safety & our fans.”
After he qualified fifth for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: “In the GPDA, we can have our disagreements but we are always fighting for the same cause in the end.
“It will be fine. We have our disagreements now. I think it’s important we all go on holiday now and spend some time with family and friends.
“We just go at it again next year. It will sort itself out.”
Russell: Feud got more airtime than it deserved
Russell and Verstappen have known each other for over a decade but have had few battles in F1 due to the different performances of their cars.
They came to blows in the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sprint, which led to a debate immediately after the race.
Their recent Qatar controversy has almost overshadowed the final race weekend in Abu Dhabi, with Russell qualifying in seventh behind Verstappen in fifth.
“I’m not even thinking about it. We have got bigger and better things to be worried about, which is racing, which is far more interesting,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.
“It probably got a bit more airtime than deserved. Ultimately, we wanted to show, that us as a group (the GPDA), we are united, regardless of personal views and we are all aligned of what we want from the sport, the FIA and F1.
“That was the message we wanted to show.”
The feud ignited some fiery words from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who used the opportunity to hit out out fellow team boss Christian Horner by calling him a “yapping little terrier.”
Asked about Wolff’s comments, Horner quipped: “To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing?
“They are not afraid of having a go at the bigger dogs. I would rather be a terrier than a wolf.”
Rosberg and Patrick on Verstappen-Russell feud
2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg:
“It’s a show of strength from George to stand his ground and stand up to Max. He’s not having that.
“Max telling him (allegedly), ‘I’m going to put your head in the wall’. ‘OK, you show me what you have got then’. We love it.”
Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick:
“Maybe what he’s seeing is a bit of that Lando-Max relationship and how Lando kind of submits a bit to Max in some way.
“George is going ‘look, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to stand my ground’.
“It’s end of the season too and you don’t need to see anyone for a while.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Sunday December 8
7.10am: F1 Academy Race Three
9.20am: F2 Feature Race
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Abu Dhabi GP build-up
1pm: The ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Abu Dhabi GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch the final race of the 2024 Formula 1 season – the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s race at 1pm. Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW
