“He is incapable of handling adversity”, George Russell accuses Max Verstappen of having threatened to crash into him

The Mercedes driver responded to attacks made by the Dutchman last weekend in Qatar.

“He said he was going to crash into me on purpose and, I quote, knock my fucking head upside down and into the wall.”. In the paddock of the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, George Russell directly targeted Max Verstappen on Thursday December 5. The British Mercedes driver was questioned four days after receiving reproaches from the Dutch world champion on the sidelines of the Qatar Grand Prix.

“You know, people have been bullied by Max for years. You can't question his skills as a pilot, but he's incapable of handling adversity every time something goes against his will”added Russell ahead of the 24th and final Grand Prix of the season.

The quarrel between the two drivers began last weekend, in Qatar, where Verstappen did not appreciate having lost his pole position after the intervention of the stewards in favor of Russell, who felt he had been embarrassed during qualifying.

After his victory the next day, the Red Bull driver said to himself “surprised and disappointed” by Russell's attitude during their hearing in the commissioners' office. “I respect a lot of drivers, but (Saturday) I completely lost my respect for him (…). He can go to hell, I don't want anything to do with him anymore”he said on Dutch television.

Verstappen has created controversy on several occasions this season with very aggressive maneuvers towards his competitors, notably on Lando Norris (McLaren), whom he hit in June in Austria, before twice pushing him off the track in Mexico in October.

“We can make a slight error of judgment, but to go so far as to say that we are deliberately going to hit someone and put their head upside down is going overboard. We have a man who is at the top of his sport and who thinks he's above the law, and I don't think that's normal.”lamented Russell in front of journalists.