The feud with George Russell that Max Verstappen sparked last Sunday after the GP Qatar, with the remark that he felt ‘screwed over’ by the Brit the day before, has a fiery continuation on media day in Abu Dhabi: both parties are firing shots in the desert. “He’s a loser.”
You could see it coming: in Formula 1, every controversy is preferably milked for all it’s worth. At the FIA press conference, it’s Max Verstappen’s turn first to reflect on what happened in Qatar, at the request of a British journalist. Or rather, what he said about colleague George Russell. He has no regrets whatsoever. Verstappen repeats, in even stronger terms, his disappointment with the Brit’s behavior. The latter hits back hard, even team boss Toto Wolff gets involved in the feud. “I don’t need others, I can take care of myself,” Verstappen responds.
“Did he (Russell) say that I stormed into the stewards’ room cursing and swearing?” Verstappen blinks once and is genuinely surprised. “That’s not true at all. But you know,” he continues, “it doesn’t surprise me that he says that. I clearly express my opinion of him and he apparently doesn’t like that. He’s doing the same thing he did with the stewards: lying and making things up that aren’t true. Typical of him. Me a bully? Yes, and he’s a backstabber. But we shouldn’t,” Verstappen believes, “talk too much about these kinds of people: he’s a loser. Am I not allowed to express my opinion about what happened?”
“I find it very disappointing, but we will have the last laugh,” Verstappen continues. “Because we win that race. After all the nitpicking with the stewards, they start on pole and three hundred meters later they’re already behind. You know, I’m not here to be best friends with him. I’ve had enough of him. He can bring up all sorts of things, but it’s about his behavior during the meeting with the stewards and nothing else. He was there shouting to move up a spot, but now he’s insinuating all sorts of things that make no sense.”
When Verstappen hears that Russell was closer to tears than laughter during his press moment, a smirk follows. “It wasn’t that dramatic with the stewards last week. Maybe next time: I’ll keep that in mind and bring tissues.” Thus, the last word is Verstappen’s, at least on Thursday. “With me, you always get the same: how I am at home, how I am here, how I am with the stewards. You can’t say that about everyone. I’ve given my opinion and that’s it: life goes on.”
The chances are, Verstappen confirms, high that Russell won’t be invited by him for a game of padel in Monaco for the time being. “We’ll put that on hold. I have plenty of other friends to play with.
