George Russell must watch his back as Max Verstappen will hunt revenge

George Russell may be left looking over his shoulder for the rest of the season after Max Verstappen issued a worrying threat at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After the pair clashed in Saturday’s sprint race, Verstappen warned Russell to “expect the same” in future battles.

Lando Norris poked fun at the suggestion on Sunday, joking with Russell that he “looked forward” to seeing the outcome. However, this may not be good news for the Mercedes star with Verstappen likely to hold a grudge.

Even Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claimed that retaliation could be on the cards. He explained: “[Verstappen] is like an elephant, he’ll remember and bank that for a while.”

History has shown the Dutchman is not one to forget after sparking up previous feuds with team-mate Sergio Perez and former title rival Lewis Hamilton. Last season, Verstappen refused to let Perez pass in Sao Paulo despite the Mexican’s championship position being up for stake.

After going against the team order, Verstappen passionately claimed he had “reasons” for refusing the move. When pushed on the issue, the reigning champion accepted it was because of “something that happened in the past”.

Although Horner decided to keep the cause under wraps, it is expected it was down to an incident at the Monaco Grand Prix. Perez crashed in qualifying at the Principality which denied Verstappen a chance to take pole and hampered his chances in the race.

Earlier this year in Saudi Arabia, tensions appeared to rise again with Perez approaching Verstappen for talks after he stole the 33-year-olds fastest lap. Afterwards, Verstappen criticised the team’s reliability and stressed he was “not here to finish second”.

Verstappen and Hamilton also enjoyed a fierce relationship in 2021 which should worry Russell. After securing the title in controversial fashion, the 25-year-old admitted the two title protagonists had “hated each other”.

He explained: “You look each other in the eye. You don’t say a lot but you do relate a lot and you really appreciate the fight. Sometimes we did hate each other, but that’s fine.”

Since, pundits have claimed Verstappen continues to hold a grudge against Hamilton as he races the Mercedes star differently to other F1 rivals such as Charles Leclerc. After the pair clashed in Sao Paulo last year, Martin Brundle accepted the double world champion had a “different set of limits” for the Mercedes driver.

Meanwhile, Karun Chandok suggested Verstappen “got his elbows out” more against Hamilton than other stars. And all of that means it’s bad news for Russell, who can expect a fierce wheel-to-wheel duel with Verstappen the next time they meet on track.