Martin Brundle’s verdict on F1’s driver feud: ‘Max Verstappen’s got everyone on edge’

Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle has weighed in on the ongoing feud between Max Verstappen and George Russell.

It was an explosive Thursday at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Verstappen and Russell spoke to the media ahead of the final race of the season.

Verstappen didn’t back down from his comments on Sunday in Qatar where he said he had “lost all respect” for Russell due to the alleged role the Mercedes driver played in getting him a grid penalty following qualifying last weekend.

Russell hit back at Verstappen with a series of comments where he questioned how the reigning world champion deals with adversity, while making reference to 2021 and how he would have handled a title defeat if he was in Lewis Hamilton’s position.

Things continued to be explosive when Verstappen spoke to the Dutch press as he described Russell as a “backstabber” and “loser”.

Speaking ahead of FP1 in Abu Dhabi, Brundle sees it as Verstappen “ramping up the aggression” on track while “playing the victim” off it.

“How I see this is that Max has ramped up the aggression on the track and ramped up playing the victim off the track - and it's working,” Brundle said. 

“He's got everyone on the run, he's got everyone on edge, whether it's media, whether it's other teams, particularly other drivers, and it's how he goes about his racing.

“We know he's always been aggressive on the race track and I think he's seen 'I can basically say what I want and get away with what I want'. He knows the rulebook, he knows how to control his car - he's brilliant at controlling his car in wheel-to-wheel situations - and every time he does it, it plays out for him.

‘Russell the only one brave enough’

Russell was livid with Verstappen’s comments after the Dutchman questioned his integrity.

The Briton insisted though he just wanted to stand up for himself rather than escalate the situation with Verstappen.

Brundle acknowledged that Russell is the first driver to be “brave enough” to hit back at Verstappen.

“George is the only one brave enough to do it with Max at the moment,” Brundle added. “Everybody else has withered.

“The FIA should be getting involved in this and sorting it out if they weren’t busy trying to sort themselves out. I do believe there should be more involvement.

“I’ve said for years I don’t understand how drivers can be best mates, social media lovies and race wheel to wheel on track. It can’t work out.”