George Russell and Max Verstappen are new-age F1 racers who have gained a lot of popularity. Moreover, the latter has been a double-time champion and is on his way to winning his third title back-to-back. On the other hand, the joining date of George Russell in the Mercedes team could not have been a worse timing. He came from Williams to replace Valterri Bottas in Mercedes.
But from his debut season, Mercedes has lost its grip on the title. However, Russell managed to win his debut race for Mercedes last season despite the tremendous porpoising issue. Mercedes lost its hegemony. But since last year, it has been Red Bull again. When the teams have such a fierce rivalry, how can the drivers not feel it?
George Russell Gave A Proper View On The Baku Incident With Max Verstappen
In the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the two mid-twenty-year-old drivers shared a heated moment where Max Verstappen called George Russell a “D******d.” Prior to that, Russell damaged Verstappen’s car, which cost Max that race. The Dutchman thought Russell was driving too aggressively. Since then, media have been speculating about how ugly this battle between George Russell and Max Verstappen has become. Recently, George Russell spoke about it on the podcast show Beyond The Grid. George Russell says those arguments happen in the heat of a moment. The sport can be too physical even when everybody doesn’t think so.
"But expect the next time the same you know… Dickhead"
— Bazoum 🏎️ (@mohaosmane99) April 29, 2023
-Max Verstappen to George Russell after the race .
Next race 🙏 . pic.twitter.com/QWad70KXON
Moreover, Russell says there’s a lot of stress cognitively, but nobody wants to crash purposefully. The media experts asked Russell if Max Verstappen apologized to him. He said there’s no need because they don’t crash that often, and they just want the best for their respective teams. Moreover, George Russell said, if they come together on the sidelines, then their comments that just don’t matter. These verbal battles are just water under the bridge. Both drivers have moved on from this ugly verbal battle.
Is George Bad Luck For Mercedes?
Since Russell joined Mercedes, the German team has won only one race last year, which was George’s maiden Grand Prix victory. Besides that Brazilian Grand Prix victory, Mercedes drivers failed to finish on the top of the podium for the rest of the races. On the other hand, Max Verstappen has been absolutely unstoppable. In the last two and a half years, the Dutchman has won 38 races. That’s how he is winning back-to-back championships. Last year, Max broke the record for most wins in a season. In 2023, it seems he is getting close to breaking his own record. Despite these different success stories for both drivers, they have a cordial relationship.
Moreover, George and Max are of the same age. They might be good friends off the grid, but when they get on the race track, they are fierce rivals. However, Mercedes has not helped Russell win as many races as Red Bull helped Max Verstappen. Nevertheless, Mercedes and Red Bull have been fierce rivals since Verstappen broke Lewis Hamilton’s winning streak in 2021. Moreover, in the last decade, there have been only two teams who have been champions. Red Bull won from 2010 to 2013. And Mercedes dominated from 2014 to 2021.
