George Russell has warned Max Verstappen he will not change his on-track behaviour after the pair clashed at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Mercedes star stressed he would “continue racing the same” and suggested he didn’t understand the hype around the feud.
Verstappen called Russell a “d***head” after the duo came together at the start of Saturday’s sprint race. But, Russell has refused to be phased by the incident almost a week on.
Speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Russell said: “I’ll continue racing the same way I always would. I mean a lot has been said about that coming together but from my side it was pretty straightforward. I went for a move, got the move done and moved on.
“Obviously he was pretty upset about it but that’s racing. These things happen and we are all here to fight.” Verstappen refused to accept Russell’s apology and laughed at the Mercedes star’s excuse.
“He’s a competitive driver, and when you get damage to your car, and it affects your race. I’d be disappointed if he was happy with it.
“[Max] is like an elephant, he’ll remember and bank that for a while.”
He failed to agree to Russell’s claims that he had ran out of grip, simply adding that all drivers were struggling. Verstappen then appeared to threaten Russell, revealing the ex-Williams star should “expect the same” in a similar incident.
Lando Norris poked fun at the fight, joking with Russell that Verstappen was out to get him ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
However, Red Bull chief Christian Horner seemed to highlight Verstappen would likely hold a grudge over the Mercedes driver for the rest of the season.
He added: “He’s a competitive driver, and when you get damage to your car, and it affects your race. I’d be disappointed if he was happy with it.”
“[Max] is like an elephant, he’ll remember and bank that for a while.” Verstappen also hinted the relationship between him and Russell had altered after the crash.
Speaking after the sprint, the 25-year-old added: “No, we didn’t really have issues before now.” Hours after the incident, both drivers explained they had not held further talks on the incident despite the tensions.
Ahead of the Grand Prix, Verstappen remarked: “It’s not necessary, I mean we just have to focus on what we can do today and try to score as many points as possible.”
Russell added that he didn’t need an apology from Verstappen but claimed the world champion’s statements were “unnecessary”.
He replied: “No, not really. I don’t need an apology at all. He’s a two-time champion, leading the championship again at the moment. It doesn’t bother me, but he probably lets himself down a little bit with those sort of comments.”
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