George Russell Ignores ‘Pathetic’ Max Verstappen While Greeting Rest of His Contemporaries in Paddock

Tanish Chachra | 07/05/2023
George Russell Ignores 'Pathetic' Max Verstappen While Greeting Rest of His Contemporaries in Paddock

George Russell and Max Verstappen’s heated words of exchange still see some aftershocks. In the latest video, what could be a display of remaining tensions, the Mercedes star appeared to ignore the current world champion while he greeted everyone else.

In a customized baseball jersey, Russell was seen walking down the paddock when he came across a bunch of F1 drivers. Among all of them, Verstappen also came across him, but the two appeared to ignore each other.

It all started when Russell and Verstappen collided with each other during the sprint race in Azerbaijan. The incident was followed by the duo complaining about each other, which was even discussed in the latest press conference in Miami.

 George Russell called Max Verstappen’s behavior ‘pathetic’

It seemed like the conflict would be buried soon. However, during the recent press conference, Russell called Verstappen’s behavior ‘pathetic’ and even questioned how he was raised as a child.

“It was all a little bit pathetic,” Russell told Sky when asked about the reaction. “Something you learn as a kid is that if you’re going to give something, you’ve got to be willing to take it as well.

Russell even claimed that Verstappen had done the same thing with other drivers, so he shouldn’t complain much when he’s at the receiving end. The Dutchman had gone to the length to call Russell a ‘D***head’ after the race and even threatened him that the Mercedes star should expect the same thing in the future.

Verstappen’s feuds with other drivers

Verstappen is known for his aggressive driving style and for his angry banters against drivers on the grid. The most famous and recent example of this came in the 2021 championship season when the Dutchman was involved in a fierce rivalry with Lewis Hamilton.

On several occasions, the duo crashed into each other and Verstappen would usually resort to frustration and anger calling the 7-time world champion ‘stupid, idiot‘ on one occasion. With the Red Bull ace now getting in a fight with Russell, it looks like the Mercedes duos are his fierce rivals on the track. Interestingly, with the W14’s poor performance and Red Bull’s insane speed, Verstappen and the Mercedes’ are not even close to each other in title fights.

Furthermore, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc being his current rival on the racetrack, the relationship between the two is quite friendly. The change of heart is probably because the duo have known each other since their childhood and have been rivals ever since their karting years, as many have speculated.

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
George Russell Max Verstappen

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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