Max Verstappen is back in his old form as he didn’t fear going at George Russell following the conclusion of the Azerbaijan GP Sprint. Verstappen confronted the Mercedes star after their first lap contact, and didn’t shy away from calling the Briton a “D*ickhead.”
The duo tangled with each other on Lap 1, which left significant damage on the Dutchman’s car. The contact with Russell’s W-14 punched a hole in the defending champion’s RB-19, causing him to lose performance due to massive drag.
As soon as the season’s first Sprint race got over, the defending champion went straight to the Silver Arrows star to talk about ‘leaving space.’ The Dutchman was heard complaining about how Russell elbowed him against the wall on Lap 1.
Max calling George a d*ckhead after their incident😳
— Matt Gallagher (@MattP1Gallagher) April 29, 2023
To support his moves, the Mercedes star said he had no grip. Hearing this, the Red Bull driver immediately replied that nobody has grip, but leaving a little bit of space was needed. Following this, Russell nodded and said, “I know, I know.”
As soon as he was done talking, Verstappen threatened Russell with a similar treatment. He said as per Matt Gallagher, “But expect it next time the same, you know. D*ckhead.” In the end, Verstappen finished the race in P3, while Russell crossed the line in P4.
Contact with Russell denied Verstappen a chance at P2
The first lap contact with the Mercedes driver left the RB-19 with a massive hole in the side pod. With such vast bodywork damage, the already angry Red Bull ace seemed helpless against Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc was the pole sitter of the Sprint on Saturday. Despite starting in front and having an advantage, he was no match to Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. With a few laps down the line, the Mexican star overtook the Monegasque.
The damage to Max’s left sidepod due to the contact with George Russell… 😬 pic.twitter.com/jyAtKfvB8F
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) April 29, 2023
However, Verstappen couldn’t make much of an improvement despite having superior straight-line speed and monstrous DRS. Even after trying on multiple occasions, the bodywork damage of the RB-19 kept him at bay from having a go at Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Russell’s response against Verstappen’s allegations
The Mercedes star opened up on the allegations put on him by the defending champion. As Verstappen accused him of not leaving enough space, he talked about the risk factor during the post-Sprint race conference.
As per Formularacers on Twitter, the 25-year-old said, “I think as a driver, you know the risks when you’re on the outside here.” He also stated that he’s in the sport to fight and win.
Russell also shared that he is not going to hold back just because Max Verstappen is leading the world championship. To end with, the Mercedes star assured that none of the contacts with the Dutchman was intentional.
