“Above the law” Max Verstappen innocence questioned after George Russell bust-up
“All that’s missing is that they get the fists out!"
Max Verstappen’s innocence has been doubted after he denied George Russell’s claims about their argument.
Russell claimed that Verstappen had threatened to “put my head in the f***** wall”, which the F1 champion flatly said is not true.
Their feisty verbal back-and-forth has dominated the build-up to Sunday’s F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen v George Russell row in Abu Dhabi
“All that’s missing is that they get the fists out! It’s more than a niggle,” Nico Rosberg analysed for Sky Sports.
“It’s thrilling to watch from the outside. From the inside, trust me, it’s horrible!
“It’s so consuming. The teams get involved, the team bosses start fighting, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner got into a renewed fight over this, your family gets involved…
“Internally, it is incredibly intense and stressful.
“There are two sides - Max is the streetfighter who thinks he’s the king now, and above the law.
“George, like the Dutch would say, needs to go back in his pram and you need to give him a toy!
“Honestly, I think it’s 50-50.”
Rosberg added: “Max said he’d put George’s head in a wall so there’s no more cordial stuff!”
It was swiftly noted that Verstappen’s version of events did not include that brutal comment.
But Rosberg has his doubts.
“We’re talking about Max who told all the journalists in the room: ‘If one more person mentions it, I’m going to headbutt you’,” Rosberg said, referring to a 2018 press conference.
Max Verstappen v George Russell at F1 driver dinner
The annual drivers’ dinner took place in Abu Dhabi, with Lando Norris teasing that the warring Verstappen and Russell were seated apart intentionally.
But a photo from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association’s Alex Wurz pitted the rivals next to each other.
Rosberg laughed: “I heard it was a pure coincidence that they ended up front and centre together!
“It was the most awkward moment of the weekend so far. That’s what I heard.”
Danica Patrick added: “Apparently at the dinner, they left one open seat for George, next to Max!”
There have been the green shoots of a potential reconciliation between Verstappen and Russell.
“We have our arguments. I am sure we will fix it again,” Verstappen said.
“But it’s good to have a little break. I am sure we will see each other again in Monaco.”
The spat came from Qatar last week, when both drivers were summoned into the stewards room.
Verstappen emerged with a grid penalty claiming that Russell played a role in causing the stewards to punish him.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
