George Russell blasts back at ‘pathetic’ F1 rival Verstappen for ‘spitting his dummy out’ with ‘d***head’ blast
GEORGE RUSSELL says Max Verstappen “spat his dummy out” with his “pathetic” blast in Baku.
Angry Verstappen labelled Russell “a d***head” after they made contact during the Azerbaijan GP Sprint race.
The Dutchman confronted the Mercedes man at the end of the race to remonstrate.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Miami GP, Russell said: “It was all a little bit pathetic.
“I think something you learn as a kid is if you’re going to give something you’ve got to be willing to take it as well.
“He’s had his fair share of giving moves like that and being tough and hard at racing and it’s a little bit poor to see how he sort of spat his dummy out when it was the first time he probably got something back in the same regard.
“From my side there was nothing really to say. I thought it was good racing, exciting racing and that’s the only thing that happened that weekend.
“We’re both drivers, we’ve both been in the sport a long time now and we have plenty of experience.
“We’ll have a chat, everything is fine, move on and I guess we’ll laugh about it one day.”
Russell and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel from the very first corner in the revamped sprint before making contact.
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The Brit had gone down the inside of the two-times world champion on the tight and twisty Baku streets and left Verstappen with missing bodywork after they touched.
With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc getting both poles in the qualifying sessions and Sergio Perez winning both the sprint and the Grand Prix, it was Verstappen’s least convincing weekend of the season.
Some fans have defended Russell’s move and pointed out that Verstappen is known for his own fearless overtakes and uncompromising racing.
The young drivers could meet on track again this weekend if Mercedes can keep up with Red Bull, something they have failed to do for most of the season.