Source: REUTERS/ALI.HAIDER
[Saba Sports News] The 2024 F1 season came to a close amid a war of words between Max Verstappen and George Russell. The incident began during the qualifying session of the Qatar Grand Prix, where Verstappen was penalized for blocking Russell during a non-flying lap, resulting in a one-place grid penalty. After the race, the two had a heated argument in the race director’s office, with Verstappen threatening to “put Russell’s head into the wall,” while Russell angrily accused Verstappen of being a bully. Their argument continued until the final race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Russell even moved his chair away from Verstappen at a dinner attended by all F1 drivers. Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner stated in his blog that Verstappen has indeed become somewhat of a bully in F1; however, he also noted that Russell’s way of retaliating was not very clever. If he were Russell, he would choose to argue with the race director instead of Verstappen. You simply need to express your views fully to the race director, who will naturally make a fair decision. If there is genuine dissatisfaction with Verstappen, it should be the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff speaking out, not the drivers themselves.