Helmut Marko tells George Russell to ‘stick to the truth’ amid Max Verstappen rift
Helmut Marko wades into Max Verstappen-George Russell feud, writes Lewis Larkam in Abu Dhabi.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has waded into the feud between F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
The spat broke out during last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Verstappen saying he had “lost all respect” for Russell over the role the Mercedes driver played in getting him penalised for driving unnecessarily slowly in qualifying.
Verstappen was stripped of pole position with Russell subsequently moving up one place and onto pole. However, the four-time world champion immediately passed Russell and went on to claim his ninth win of the season in Qatar.
Russell escalated the row during Thursday’s media day ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, revealing to media including Crash.net that Verstappen had allegedly threatened to intentionally crash into him and “put his head into the f*****g wall”.
Verstappen refuted Russell’s claims and labelled the Briton as a “backstabber” and a “loser”.
Marko latest to get involved
Marko, one of Verstappen’s closest allies, has now come out in support of the Dutchman.
The 81-year-old Austrian has demanded that Russell needs to “stick to the truth” but believes the situation has now “blown up too much”.
“It has indeed blown up too much and it should actually stay among the drivers,” Marko told Sky Germany.
“But above all, one has to stick to the truth. I think this is basically maybe a discussion you should just have among yourselves.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff have also become embroiled in the rift, having taken swipes at one another.
Wolff first described Horner as a “happy little terrier”, to which the Red Bull boss responded: “To be called a terrier, is that such a bad thing? They’re not afraid of having a go at the bigger dogs – I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf maybe.”
Horner also defended Verstappen, adding: “Max is a very straight shooter, he just tells you exactly how he sees it, he tells the truth exactly what he feels.
“A lot has been made of it. It’s pantomime season, we’re getting ready for Christmas, there’s maybe an element of end-of-term blues there, but I don’t think it’ll have any effect on the Grand Prix itself.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
