Russell v Verstappen - what's going on?

"People person been bullied by Max for years now."

"George is simply a backstabber. That helium brings each this worldly up. He's conscionable a loser."

"Max has been enabled due to the fact that nobody's stood up to him. He cannot woody with adversity, helium slams his full squad and loses the plot."

"George lies and pastes each kinds of things unneurotic that aren't true."

In presumption of the powerfulness of the connection employed, the quality betwixt George Russell and Max Verstappen that has blown up successful the past week is already close up determination successful the database of all-time large feuds betwixt Formula 1 drivers.

On Thursday evening, some attended the accepted yearly meal the drivers stock successful Abu Dhabi.

Russell was past to crook up. There were 2 seats left, some adjacent to Verstappen, who waved, said "Hi, George" and indicated for him to beryllium down.

Russell said hullo backmost then, successful what indispensable person been an awkward moment, took 1 of the seats and moved it distant to beryllium adjacent to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

It mightiness person been a misjudgement. Had Russell sat down with Verstappen, they would astir apt person sorted it each retired wrong a mates of minutes.

These 2 person history.

After a clang during the sprint contention successful Azerbaijan successful 2022, Verstappen called Russell "Princess George" and "a dickhead" successful a spat the Briton called "a small spot pathetic".

It's lain dormant successful the intervening 2 years, overmuch of which were characterised by domination by Verstappen and his Red Bull team.

But astatine the extremity of a 2024 play successful which the tract has closed up, and the contention has escalated betwixt each 4 apical teams and their drivers, each it took was 1 comparatively tiny incidental for it each to stroke up.

And now, aft what they person said, it mightiness beryllium a portion earlier they play unneurotic astatine padel - the F1 drivers' existent sporting pastime of prime - which they person been doing this twelvemonth regularly with Lando Norris, Alex Albon and sometimes Carlos Sainz.

Verstappen started each this, successful nationalist astatine least, aft winning past weekend's Qatar Grand Prix. He said helium had "lost each respect" for Russell, adding: "I've ne'er seen idiosyncratic trying to screw idiosyncratic implicit that hard."

The Dutchman's comments were a notation to his cognition of Russell's actions successful the stewards' country successful Qatar, astatine a proceeding that led to the Red Bull operator being fixed a one-place grid punishment and being demoted from rod position to 2nd spot down Russell's Mercedes.

Verstappen had been called to the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly, and Russell, arsenic the operator who had been impeded, went, too.

They had qualified one-two for the expansive prix, with Verstappen up of Russell.

Verstappen had breached the regularisation defining the velocity drivers are not allowed to dip beneath connected a dilatory thigh successful qualifying. But what happened successful the stewards' country incensed Verstappen, who felt Russell had gone overboard successful stating his lawsuit successful a bid to gain his rival a penalty.

Russell, who had been fastest connected the archetypal runs successful last qualifying, felt the incidental had outgo him rod position.

They exchanged words extracurricular the stewards' country aft the hearing, erstwhile Russell claims Verstappen threatened to "purposefully spell retired of his mode to clang into maine and 'put maine connected my caput successful the wall'". And again arsenic the drivers were being interviewed connected the grid earlier the race. Their 2nd statement was witnessed by Sainz, Norris and Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez.

Because of the timings of the post-race interviews successful Qatar, Thursday - media time astatine the play finale successful Abu Dhabi - was Russell's archetypal accidental to code Verstappen's comments.

"It's funny," helium said, "because adjacent earlier I said a connection successful the stewards, helium was swearing astatine the stewards. He was truthful aggravated earlier I'd adjacent spoken.

"There is thing to prevarication about. He was going excessively slow. He was connected the racing enactment and successful the high-speed corner. I wasn't trying to get him a penalty. I was conscionable trying to hole my lap.

"You combat hard connected way and successful the stewards, the aforesaid mode arsenic Max the precise adjacent time asked his squad to look astatine Lando's punishment connected the yellowish flag. That's not personal. That's racing. I don't cognize wherefore helium felt the request for this idiosyncratic onslaught and I'm not going to instrumentality it."

It's not arsenic if Russell and Verstappen person ever despised each other, though their narration intelligibly needs immoderate maintenance.

Of course, drivers are friendlier with immoderate of their peers than others.

Verstappen gets connected peculiarly good with Nico Hulkenberg. Norris is bully friends with Sainz, whose narration with Charles Leclerc seems peculiarly lukewarm for team-mates. Hamilton mostly keeps himself to himself.

And this has been an epoch of singular harmony betwixt the drivers. But erstwhile they get retired connected track, wherever it matters to these animals of unthinkable competitory intensity, each that is forgotten.

For the different drivers, this is wryly amusing, and each portion of the game.

Norris - Verstappen's rubric rival this twelvemonth and a person of some men - said: "For George, by saying what helium said… astatine times you person that respect betwixt drivers erstwhile thing happens and you don't privation either to get a punishment due to the fact that it's conscionable a concern wherever no-one should truly get a penalty.

"Mercedes are not warring for a title truthful they volition bash what - astatine each costs - it takes to effort and get a rod oregon win, and possibly helium has paid the terms a small spot successful the respect from Max.

"But everyone does things their ain way. I enjoyed watching them reason the mode they did."

Fernando Alonso, whose communal respect with Verstappen has been evident for years, dismissed the Dutchman's assertion Russell was two-faced.

"No, I don't deliberation so," Alonso said. "George is simply a large driver, large person. I'm a bully person of George arsenic well. I don't deliberation that he's showing antithetic faces present and there.

"I deliberation it's much astir what Max astir apt agrees with maine that I said galore times, that immoderate of the penalties are a small spot not consistent.

"You know, if you person that 1 occurrence successful Qatar and past you spell to the adjacent lawsuit and you replicate precisely the aforesaid occurrence - which you tin replicate by yourself, you tin induce that occurrence driving - past you don't get the aforesaid effect successful presumption of penalties. That's the vexation that we sometimes have."

It's intolerable to disregard the discourse for each this, connected some sides.

For Verstappen, this incidental came astatine the extremity of a long, hard play which has been his astir awesome connected a fig of antithetic levels.

He won the title with 2 races remaining contempt having a car that was fastest lone for the archetypal 5 grands prix, and helium did it by driving with a accordant excellence that no-one was capable to match. Everyone successful F1 - including Russell - acknowledges that.

As Alonso enactment it connected Thursday: "When I saw the car being the third, the 4th fastest car sometimes... erstwhile I saw McLaren triumph one-twos successful 1 of the races earlier summer... successful Zandvoort, Lando won with 25 seconds implicit the 2nd oregon thing similar that... I thought, OK, the title volition be, choky until Abu Dhabi. But past it was not choky due to the fact that 1 operator was outstanding."

At the aforesaid time, Verstappen has been holding unneurotic a squad that astatine times has looked similar it was falling isolated astatine the seams.

It started with allegations of intersexual harassment levelled astatine squad main Christian Horner, which helium has ever denied and of which helium has been cleared by 2 interior investigations.

Verstappen's begetter Jos has been astatine loggerheads with Horner arsenic a effect of the allegations. They are rubbing on good capable astatine the moment, but Horner knows some Verstappens person to beryllium treated with care.

Max has besides faced the resignation of the top decorator successful F1 history, Adrian Newey, astatine slightest partially arsenic a effect of the allegations against Horner. And the departures of 2 different elder figures with whom helium has worked intimately for astir a decade.

And helium has led his squad from the beforehand done thing adjacent to a situation with their car show during the summer, and retired the different side, culminating successful his brilliant, cathartic, career-defining and fundamentally title-winning victory successful the bedewed successful Brazil from 17th connected the grid.

Russell, meanwhile, arsenic a manager of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, is astatine the forefront of the drivers' attempts get the FIA to rewrite the rules governing racing, a determination that was triggered by Verstappen's driving against Norris successful the US Grand Prix.

After Verstappen defended his pb successful Austin with his trademark 'dive-bomb' defence - ensuring helium complied with the rules by being up astatine the apex, but taking some cars disconnected way connected the exit, a determination helium utilized aggregate times against Lewis Hamilton successful 2021 - the drivers had had enough.

To a man, they similar Verstappen arsenic a idiosyncratic and respect him arsenic a driver. But arsenic Verstappen enactment it himself successful a BBC Sport interrogation successful Las Vegas: "How I americium connected the way is not needfully however I americium off-track. I cognize connected track, if you privation to win, if you privation to beryllium a champion, you bash request to beryllium connected the limit."

And to galore of his chap drivers, Verstappen tin thrust successful extremis successful a mode they bash not find acceptable.

The Austin incidental was followed by a drivers' gathering successful Mexico a week aboriginal successful which the immense bulk of the drivers made it wide they wanted the racing rules rewritten successful a mode that nary longer implicitly allowed, adjacent encouraged, the dive-bomb defence.

After that meeting, Russell said 19 of the 20 drivers were "aligned connected wherever it needs to be". He didn't accidental who the objection was. He didn't request to.

Two days later, astatine the Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen went adjacent much utmost successful his driving against Norris, earning himself 2 abstracted 10-second penalties for 2 antithetic moves connected 1 lap.

Russell said connected Thursday: "Lewis is the champion I aspire to beryllium - hard but fair, ne'er beyond the line.

"I americium not losing immoderate slumber implicit it. I ne'er had immoderate volition of speaking retired and speaking similar this but helium has gone excessively acold with this idiosyncratic onslaught and I americium putting the information retired determination and returning the favour."

There is 1 much added dimension. Their quality besides revives the quality betwixt their 2 teams, which has lain mostly dormant since the bitter rubric conflict betwixt Verstappen and Hamilton successful 2021.

After Horner called Russell "hysterical" successful Qatar, Mercedes squad brag Toto Wolff decided helium should get successful connected the act. Wolff, unusually, attended Russell's quality league connected Thursday, and indicated to a writer helium was keen to beryllium asked a question, too.

He took a swipe astatine Horner: "Why does helium consciousness entitled to remark astir my driver? Yapping small terrier, ever thing to say."

This is not the archetypal operator spat successful F1, and it won't beryllium the last. The athletics thrives connected them.

One of the astir appealing things astir watching it is it strips its opponents bare. The unit and strength of contention means determination is nary hiding one's existent self.

In presumption of seriousness of their on-track rivalry, the incidents successful which they person been involved, Russell v Verstappen is surely nary Ayrton Senna v Alain Prost, oregon Hamilton v Nico Rosberg.

They haven't yet had the machinery to vie against each different astatine the level of competitory strength that would bring it to that level.

But it surely has each the ingredients to make into thing similar it.