George Rusell claims Max Verstappen said in Qatar he would “put you on your f*** head in the wall”; World champion denies allegation speaking to Dutch media; watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1, with lights out for Sunday’s race at 1pm
In a major escalation of the row between two of F1’s leading drivers over fallout from Verstappen’s one-place grid drop at the Qatar Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Russell spoke to the media for the first time since his Red Bull rival’s explosive comments about him after last Sunday’s race.
Verstappen had said he had “lost all respect” for Russell and that the Mercedes driver had set out in the stewards room to get him a penalty for impeding him at the end of qualifying on Saturday.
Russell gave his own strong-worded response to Verstappen’s claims at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP on Thursday, alleging that the world champion had threatened to crash into him in last week’s race after they had met with the stewards.
The pair had lined up first and second on the grid, with Russell inheriting pole position after Verstappen’s penalty. After overtaking Russell at the start, the Red Bull driver won the race with the Mercedes driver finishing fourth.