Why George Russell HATES Max Verstappen
- Tarasekhar Padhy
- Feb 15
- 8 min read
After the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, it was evident that George Russell and Max Verstappen aren’t that fond of each other. Even at the drivers’ end-of-season dinner, the British driver refused to sit near the Dutch champion while breaking bread.
It may appear that their rivalry or mutual hatred began after the 2024 qualifying session in the Lusail International Circuit. Basically, Max secured pole which was given to George, who qualified P2, because the latter claimed that the former had impeded his Q3 preparation lap.
As a result, Verstappen, allegedly, threatened Russell that he’d crash into him if they raced side to side. To make matters worse for the British driver, Max went on to secure his 63rd race win that week, George’s racing number.
Consequently, the latte connoisseur (credit: Netflix’s DTS) gave a pretty serious interview before the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
If you look at his eyes closely, you can tell that he’s been crying in his hotel room.
Anyway, most Formula 1 fans believe that this moment was the ignition point of the Verstappen-Russell rivalry, but this couldn’t be further away from the truth.
You see, every time George achieves a milestone in his F1 career, Max steals his thunder, either by achieving bigger things or simply causing controversy. This trend includes all race wins and all but one podium of George Russell.
Let’s start by looking at the race wins of George Russell and how Max Verstappen snatched the spotlight away from the British driver.
Russell Wins Where Verstappen Captured Headlines
In total, George has three race victories. While he took the chequered flag, the Dutchman took all the attention from the media, analysts, and F1 pundits.
1. 2022 Brazilian GP
Interlagos brought the first-ever race win for the ankle socks-wearing British driver who thinks of himself as the class monitor because he is an admin of the F1 drivers’ WhatsApp group.
However, Max stole the spotlight by colliding with his former nemesis, Lewis Hamilton.
Even though the media guys congratulated George on his first-ever F1 race win, a lot of the attention was shifted onto the clash between the seven-time world champion and the now four-time world champion.
Moreover, the fact that both of those guys had a moment in the same venue the year before makes it all better and adds to the overall racing drama.
2. 2024 Austrian GP
Verstappen collided with yet another Englishman, McLaren’s Lando Norris, when battling for the lead. Lando retired from the race because he was a little bitch and Verstappen had to pit for a puncture to finish P6.
This allowed Russell to inherit the lead and eventually take the chequered flag to secure his second career win. Russell, Piastri, and Sainz, the three podium finishers, were laughing about it in the cooldown room, giving us some decent meme moments.
Due to the fact that Norris and Verstappen were title contenders, mathematically at least, a lot of the focus was on their collision. The journalists asked the two drivers about each other’s racing style and how they might approach a similar situation in the future.
George’s ecstatic screams faded in the background noise.
3. 2024 Las Vegas GP
The Mercedes pair showed tremendous pace, a level above the rest of the field, under the neon lights of Sin City. Lewis Hamilton has lost his qualifying edge, according to himself and data, allowing his teammate to secure pole position unchallenged.
George Russell drove the whole race well. Initially, he had to fend off a charging Charles Leclerc who had the best post-race radio in that event, to protect his lead. For the remainder of the evening, or night, he maintained the pace well to win.
Max Verstappen won his fourth world title in Vegas.
You can’t make this stuff up.
As if that wasn’t enough, he drank, partied, and gave an exclusive interview which surely stole all the wind off of George’s sail.
To add salt to the injury, George’s teammate Lewis overtook Max during his charge from P10 to P2 and became the driver of the day. That also shifted a bit of the attention toward the seven-time world champion’s last Vegas race as a Mercedes driver.
Basically, the media was busy with Max, Lando, and Lewis. The fans were busy chatting about how Ferrari messed up Leclerc’s race, preventing him from finishing on the podium. All of this chatter, spearheaded by Max Verstappen, dampened Russell’s thunder.
George’s Missed Wins: The Verstappen Connection
Russell could’ve had two more wins in his Formula 1 career. The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. You can also throw in the 2024 Brazilian GP as an honorable mention, considering Russell was leading the race comfortably at one point.
What if I told you that all of the above potential wins slipped away from the British driver due to elements connected with Max Verstappen?
1. 2020 Sakhir GP
George Russell lost a chance to secure his first career win in his Mercedes debut due to a botched pitstop and a slow puncture leading to another unplanned pitstop. There was no way he couldn’t have won, even after the first error.
On the other side, Sergio Perez drove a phenomenal race. Charles Leclerc hit Checo on the first lap, spinning the Mexican driver and putting him in the last position.
Perez then managed tires well, executed great overtakes, and capitalized on Mercedes’ mistakes or Russell’s misfortune to secure a once-in-a-millennia win.
During his charge to the top step of the podium from dead last, he overtook the Red Bull of Alex Albon, the only remaining Red Bull in the race after Verstappen retired on Lap 1.
This performance caught the attention of the decision-makers in Milton Keynes who offered him a seat for the following season. As a result, Sergio Perez became Max’s teammate for the upcoming 2021 Formula 1 season and beyond.
Another way this was Verstappen’s doing was the Dutchman’s retirement itself. One of the key reasons Sergio managed to accrue any further damage was because Max took evasive action, sacrificing himself.
Certain experts also claim that while taking that evasive action, Verstappen transferred 10% of his skill power to Sergio for which the now-fired Mexican drove like a champion.
2. 2024 Belgian GP
Max Verstappen has been winning the Belgian Grand Prix consecutively since the 2021 season, earning a hat-trick. That illustrious run came to an end in 2024 because Lawrence Stroll wanted to build his son the fastest car and auctioned off Adrian Newey.
It was certain that the star of the Netherlands would finish outside of the podium positions.
As the race unfolded, the Mercedes pair showed tremendous pace. Russell gambled with a one-stop while the Stevenage-born stuck with the two-stop default. This helped George sneak the win away by meticulously managing the tires and fending off Lewis by half a second.
The venue had everything for Russell. A win where he showed his wits and skills. A win where Verstappen can’t steal his thunder.
Alas! The happiness was short-lived because his car was underweight by more than a kilo, resulting in a disqualification. Max’s old nemesis and his teammate Lewis Hamilton inherited the win of the race.
You may wonder what Verstappen had to do with all this.
Well, he definitely used the power of the Shamans from the indigenous tribes in Brazil. Max is in a relationship with a woman named Kelly Piquet who is, get this, a Brazilian. And, I am not sure if you are aware, they are having a baby!
It is certain at this point that during his time in Brazil, Max spends many hours learning about the metaphysical energies preserved in the ancient knowledge and rituals, imparted by the Shamans.
3. 2024 Brazilian GP
George Russell takes the lead from Lando Norris because the latter drives like an idiot for the first lap of every race he starts on the pole. Anyway, in rain-soaked Interlagos, track position was everything because the spray from the car ahead made it difficult to overtake.
As the race progressed, Russell struggled as the tires got older.
Armed with this information and the magical Shaman powers, Verstappen intensified the rain to encourage George to pit. He increased the rain levels to red flag levels to ensure the British driver dives into the pitlane.
Russell suspected this and decided to stay on track and wait until Race Control red-flagged the session.
To combat this Verstappen enters the subconscious of Marcus Dudley (George’s race engineer) and incepts an idea in his brain — get car #63 to pit.
Now, there were worn tires, hammering rain, and the pressure from your race engineer. George Russell folded right before the inevitable Colapinto crash occurred to bring out the red flag.
A lot of experts are suggesting that the Colapinto crash was caused by Max Verstappen’s supernatural capabilities. Sources say he did that to teach him a lesson for crashing into his future teammate Liam Lawson in the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix.
Professionals speculate that these elevated levels of Shaman capabilities flowed through Max because he was in Brazil, the place where he is strongest.
Speedrunning Through Russell’s Podiums
George Russell has 15 podiums in his F1 career.
Three of those are wins that we discussed earlier.
Out of the remaining 12, Verstappen stood on the top step in 10 of them.
The remaining two are the 2022 Australian GP and 2024 Azerbaijan GP.
The 2022 Australian GP was Max’s first retirement in two years. That surely got him some attention that could’ve gone to Russell.
The only podium finish that Verstappen didn’t steal the spotlight in was on Azerbaijan 2024, where Max brought the car home in P5.
Looking Forward: Spicy Battles in 2025
The 2025 F1 season is going to be one of a kind due to the potential of multiple clashes among the drivers and between the drivers and FIA.
One of the clashes of the collective is a potential UK vs Netherlands war.
While Verstappen has the racecraft advantage, Russell demonstrates an unbeatable qualifying pace, making the situations interesting.
Moreover, it appears that Mercedes are on an upward trajectory in terms of car development while Red Bull guys are using DIY techniques because they think F1 cars are made up of Legos.
Another interesting element is Max’s psychological prowess. He can mog Russell by simply uttering words, such as “I will put you on your head in the f**king wall” and make him cry. Yes, I am speaking of the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix incident.
If this is not a real demonstration of real Shaman power, I don’t know what is. Open your eyes, people!
However, Verstappen must watch out for the diplomatic deception of the Englishman. Carrying the genes of some of the greatest colonizers of recent history, George can too give trouble to the Dutchman through debates and letters.
Either way, there is a high possibility that these guys will be giving us some wheel-to-wheel action and the fact that you can’t swear makes it all interesting when you throw Max in the mix.
March 14 can’t come sooner.
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Until next time,
Tara
