Max Verstappen and George Russell were seated as far apart as possible during the F1 driver’s end-of-season dinner, underscoring the continuing tension between the two.
The focus has shifted from the championship outcome in Las Vegas to the escalating verbal conflict between Verstappen and Russell, hinting at potential on-track clashes in the future.
Russell recently characterized the four-time world champion as a ‘bully’ after a heated private conversation where Verstappen allegedly threatened him with aggressive action following a controversial decision by the race stewards.
Verstappen was furious at being demoted a place after taking pole position for driving ‘unnecessarily slowly’ as they prepared for their final flying laps in qualifying in Qatar, later calling the Brit two-faced for the evidence he gave to the stewards.
But the two were forced into close proximity in what was sure to be an awkward and tension-filled end-of-season dinner ahead of the final race weekend of the calendar in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren star Lando Norris, who came closest to dethroning Verstappen this term, lifted the lid on the occasion with a social media post on Thursday night. In it, he revealed that the drivers at the centre of the ‘bullying’ storm gave each other a wide berth.
Formula One drivers enjoyed their annual end-of-season dinner in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night
The occasion came amid tensions between Max Verstappen (third from left) and George Russell (on right of Lewis Hamilton making peace sign)
On Thursday Russell claimed that ‘bully’ Max Verstappen told him he would, ‘Put me on my f****** head in the wall.’
Norris wrote on Instagram: ‘2024 dinner! and yes, the two your thinking about were sat as far away from each other as possible.’ He followed the message with a crying laughing emoji and a smiling emoji.
Verstappen and Russell were all smiles in the image and were separated by five of their colleagues at the blush restaurant. Another image of the dinner showed the pair on opposite ends of the large table.
The snap was also notable for the placement of Lewis Hamilton, who was tucked away in the corner next to Charles Leclerc, who will be his team-mate at Ferrari next season. Russell also shared an image of the dinner on his Instagram, where he revealed that former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas picked up the bill.
Just hours earlier, Russell, who finished fourth in Qatar despite his promotion to pole position, sensationally told reporters: ‘I find it all quite ironic considering Saturday night he said he’d purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, “Put me on my f***ing head in the wall”.
‘So to question somebody’s integrity as a person while saying comments like that the day before, I find very ironic.
‘I’m not going to sit here and accept it. People have been bullied by Max for years now and you can’t question his driving abilities but he cannot deal with adversity. Whenever anything has gone against him, Jeddah ‘21, Brazil ‘21, he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race car wasn’t dominant, crashing into Lewis, slamming his team.
‘For me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary because what happens on track – we fight hard – it’s part of racing. What happens in the stewards’ room, you fight hard, but it’s never personal.
‘But he’s taken it too far now.’
Lewis Hamilton was sat with new Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc during the meal
Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel attended the meal alongside the current F1 stars
Max Verstappen has not let up in his criticism of Mercedes’ George Russell, following a controversial incident involving the pair in Qatar
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lashed out at fellow team principal Christian Horner while defending Russell
When asked if he was planning to speak to Verstappen to clear the air, Russell said: ‘I’ve got no interest in talking to him about it because I don’t have any interest in making amends because I think it’s his problem to deal with and I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.’
Following Russell’s comments, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff poured gasoline on the war of words between his constructor and rivals Red Bull by describing Christian Horner as a ‘yapping little terrier’.
Wolff entered the fray on Thursday afternoon too, coming for Verstappen’s team principal Christian Horner after he accused Russell of ‘hysterics’ in front of the stewards to sway last Saturday’s qualifying verdict.
‘At the end, why does he feel entitled to comment about my driver? How does that come?’ Wolff told the Athletic. ‘But thinking about it, I’ve spent 90 seconds to think about it… Yapping little terrier. Always something to say.’
‘There is a thing between drivers, and this is George and Max, and I don’t want to get involved in that, but if the other team principal calls George hysterical, this is where he crosses a line for me.
‘Now, his forte for sure is not intellectual psychoanalysis, but that’s quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver.’
