“He Likes To Talk”: Max Verstappen Quips George Russell Can Start a Podcast

Tensions between Max Verstappen and George Russell have been high since the penultimate race of 2024 in Qatar. The two were engaged in an intense verbal battle, which also compelled their respective team bosses to step in. But even before the relationship soured, Verstappen did not let an opportunity to tease the Briton pass.

Verstappen recently answered a series of ‘Who’s Most Likely To’ questions for Sport Bible. One was about who would most likely start a podcast, and without any hesitation, Verstappen took Russell’s name. His reason was “He likes to talk”.

The four-time champion quickly said he was joking, but also brought up Russell‘s liking for creating audio/visual media such as PowerPoint presentations.

This was a reference to the British driver creating a PowerPoint presentation in his youth to pitch why he deserved to become an F1 driver to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. Russell might also develop an interest in hosting his own podcast, inviting various guests depending on his chosen topics.

Now, this video was from the Las Vegas GP, before the controversy that unfolded in Qatar. So, it wasn’t a jibe towards the Mercedes driver, who had been very vocal about Verstappen calling him “two-faced” in Lusail, following a penalty which Russell allegedly requested the stewards to hand to the Red Bull man.

While the podcast quip was a lighthearted take, the on-track tension between Verstappen and Russell has been palpable. Their scuffle continued onto Abu Dhabi, and it became rather personal.

How the Russell-Verstappen tussle spiced up the 2024 season finale

Russell and Verstappen reignited the rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull, even though they were not directly competing with each other on track. While such rifts often wither away over a weekend, it wasn’t the case with them.

Their peers attempted to broker a truce during the annual end-of-season dinner. All the drivers had arrived except for Russell, and the plan was to seat him beside Verstappen to ease the tension between them. According to Liam Lawson, even the Dutchman was willing to go along with it.

However, when Russell arrived, he chose to sit beside his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, instead. This created an awkward moment, diverging from what the other drivers had envisioned.

There was another moment of a possible reconciliation between the duo at the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association meeting. All of the drivers in the GPDA meeting clicked a group photograph to mark the end of the season and this photo had Verstappen and Russell sitting beside each other front and center.

But this was deemed to be a coincidence by many experts in the paddock and the tensions between the two drivers may only ease over the winter break.