George Russell Hits Back at Verstappen, Escalating F1 Row

Baby, these F1 stars got bad blood! Mercedes F1 driver George Russell hit back at Max Verstappen on Thursday, Dec. 5 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi after the F1 world champion's comments about Russell in Qatar last weekend. 

Verstappen had revealed that he had lost all respect for the Mercedes F1 driver after the stewards took away the four-time world champion's pole position and gave it to Russell. 

On Thursday, Verstappen emphasized he did not regret what he said at a news conference in Yas Marina, accusing Russell of lying to secure the pole position in Qatar. 

In response, George Russell responded to Verstappen's comments at a session in the Mercedes' hospitality with team principal Toto Wolff. 

Russell said, "I've known Max for a long time and I know what he's capable of...He said to me he's going to purposely go out of his way to crash into me."

He also said, "For a world champion to be coming out and saying he's going to go out of his way to crash into someone and put them on their effing heads, that is not the sort of role models we should be."

Verstappen said about Russell, "I just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly, and lying about why I was doing what I was doing."

The Mercedes F1 driver emphasized, "At the end of the day, there's nothing to lie about. The facts were the facts. he was going too slow."

All this drama unfolded two days before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, so fans are curious to see what happens when the drivers go head-to-head in the final race of the season. 

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This article was previously published on UAE Moments. To see the original article, click here