George Russell has received emphatic backing for "standing up" to
Max Verstappen after their "war of words." Towards the end of the
2024 season, the two engaged in a bitter row after an incident in
Qatar GP qualifying where Verstappen was stripped of pole for
blocking Russell, who the four-time F1 champion claimed had tried
to engineer a penalty so the Mercedes could inherit pole himself.
The week after, in Abu Dhabi, Russell labelled Verstappen as a
"bully" who had threatened to deliberately crash into him in Qatar,
with bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner also getting involved.
Tensions cooled thereafter, although the two clashed in Spain
earlier this year, when Verstappen felt aggrieved at being forced
wide on a safety car restart. He appeared to deliberately hit the
Mercedes, earning him three penalty points, and moving him just one
away from a race ban at the time, although two have since been
removed. This has come against the backdrop of Mercedes chasing
Verstappen's signature, with Russell widely expected to be the
driver to leave the team if a stunning deal was agreed. Although
Verstappen has since confirmed he will be staying with Red Bull for
2026, Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli have not yet officially
been announced for next season, despite Wolff saying it is a matter
of time. Considering this, former F1 driver Perry McCarthy
believes Russell is not "bigged up" for his performances, with
seven podiums this season, as he praised the Briton for "standing
up" to Verstappen. "He's been doing a great job, but it is kind of
funny image-wise that you don't hear people talking about George
and bigging him up all the time, no matter what he does," said
McCarthy, in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365 . "Last
year, he clearly outperformed Lewis [Hamilton], and this year, he's
been faced with the complete future of Mercedes, and the kid kicked
off well, but has struggled recently, and George has been leading
the team. "On top of that, the contract delay does play on your
mind, because it is not a question of 'Where am I going to earn my
money next month?', but it is a question of a confidence issue, 'Is
this team completely behind me, and totally committed to me?' "I
know the difference from being a number two to a number one and
having people around you think you can walk on water, and what that
does to your performance, and your outlook, and that's where George
has been particularly mentally strong. "He's also shown that in his
dealings with Max, because he has had no problems about standing up
to him and having this kind of mental battle with him, and just
going, 'I know who I am, I know what I can do.' "That is a real
display of confidence, and even though there's been a war of words,
it does show a confidence in a leadership position, so for that
reason, I do feel George gets slightly overlooked from what his
performances deserve. "All the performances he has given and the
application and commitment he's been showing have been set against
this backdrop of uncertainty, and I'll guarantee you something that
every racing driver that ever was or is out there, no matter how
mega they are, they still need that comfort to think people believe
in them."
Max Verstappen after their "war of words." Towards the end of the
2024 season, the two engaged in a bitter row after an incident in
Qatar GP qualifying where Verstappen was stripped of pole for
blocking Russell, who the four-time F1 champion claimed had tried
to engineer a penalty so the Mercedes could inherit pole himself.
The week after, in Abu Dhabi, Russell labelled Verstappen as a
"bully" who had threatened to deliberately crash into him in Qatar,
with bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner also getting involved.
Tensions cooled thereafter, although the two clashed in Spain
earlier this year, when Verstappen felt aggrieved at being forced
wide on a safety car restart. He appeared to deliberately hit the
Mercedes, earning him three penalty points, and moving him just one
away from a race ban at the time, although two have since been
removed. This has come against the backdrop of Mercedes chasing
Verstappen's signature, with Russell widely expected to be the
driver to leave the team if a stunning deal was agreed. Although
Verstappen has since confirmed he will be staying with Red Bull for
2026, Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli have not yet officially
been announced for next season, despite Wolff saying it is a matter
of time. Considering this, former F1 driver Perry McCarthy
believes Russell is not "bigged up" for his performances, with
seven podiums this season, as he praised the Briton for "standing
up" to Verstappen. "He's been doing a great job, but it is kind of
funny image-wise that you don't hear people talking about George
and bigging him up all the time, no matter what he does," said
McCarthy, in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365 . "Last
year, he clearly outperformed Lewis [Hamilton], and this year, he's
been faced with the complete future of Mercedes, and the kid kicked
off well, but has struggled recently, and George has been leading
the team. "On top of that, the contract delay does play on your
mind, because it is not a question of 'Where am I going to earn my
money next month?', but it is a question of a confidence issue, 'Is
this team completely behind me, and totally committed to me?' "I
know the difference from being a number two to a number one and
having people around you think you can walk on water, and what that
does to your performance, and your outlook, and that's where George
has been particularly mentally strong. "He's also shown that in his
dealings with Max, because he has had no problems about standing up
to him and having this kind of mental battle with him, and just
going, 'I know who I am, I know what I can do.' "That is a real
display of confidence, and even though there's been a war of words,
it does show a confidence in a leadership position, so for that
reason, I do feel George gets slightly overlooked from what his
performances deserve. "All the performances he has given and the
application and commitment he's been showing have been set against
this backdrop of uncertainty, and I'll guarantee you something that
every racing driver that ever was or is out there, no matter how
mega they are, they still need that comfort to think people believe
in them."
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