Max Verstappen ‘let himself down’ as Russell shares real verdict

George Russell has claimed Max Verstappen “let himself down” by insulting the Mercedes star after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race. The duo clashed during the 17-lap Saturday event with Verstappen furious after the chequered flag.

The Dutchman approached Russell for talks in the pitlane where he branded the ex-Williams star a “d***head”. Verstappen also refused to accept Russell’s apology for contact and laughed at his excuse that a lack of grip played a part.

Russell now claims Verstappen’s words were “unnecessary” but he surprisingly praised the 25-year-old. Russell said: “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.

“Max is a super good guy, great-great driver, just words like that are a bit unnecessary.” Russell and Verstappen touched at turn two on lap one after both drivers refused to yield.

Verstappen was quick to criticise Russell’s move as he demanded Red Bull engineers”f***ing report” the Mercedes man. Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested the damage caused from the contact slowed Verstappen by around three-quarters of a second per lap.

However, Russell admitted he was shocked at how minor the contact was when he watched the footage back on TV. He explained: “To be honest I was a bit underwhelmed how little everything was, I was expecting it to be more.

“Obviously, there was a bit of contact, as there often is up and down the grid on lap one, so yeah, I was expecting a bit more.” After the race, Verstappen accused Russell of making a “silly mistake” and suggested he was still on F1’s “learning curve”.

On Sunday, both drivers confirmed no further private talks had happened in a bid to clear the air ahead of the Grand Prix. Verstappen said: “I thought I was fair in Turn Two. I gave him enough space. I think he locked up. He tells me ‘I had cold tyres’. Well we all have cold tyres, that’s not an excuse.

“I don’t like it when somebody has that kind of reaction: ‘I didn’t do anything wrong’ and just walks off. It is what it is. I was not overtaking him. He was overtaking me. I’m just trying to stay out of trouble. It’s two views. It’s my views, it’s his view, whatever.

“[In his position] I would try to fight but not run into someone because that’s not what you want to do.”