‘Head in a f***ing wall’: F1 dinner photo goes viral as driver feud goes nuclear
A photo of the F1 grid has sent fans into meltdown, as George Russell hit back at Max Verstappen and their feud went nuclear.
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George Russell has accused Max Verstappen of threatening to deliberately crash into him as their war of words went nuclear on Friday morning (AEDT).
The British driver made the sensational claim after the Red Bull star refused to back down on his suggestions Russell had acted underhandedly during their now infamous stewards inquiry hearing ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend.
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Russell first accused Verstappen of blocking him dangerously during qualifying last week, a claim that resulted in Verstappen being stripped of pole position as part of a one-place grid penalty.
The 2024 world champion said ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Russell had lied to the stewards and that he had “no regrets” over his comments in Doha, when he said he had “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver.
Russell hit back at Verstappen’s latest tirade, saying the four-time champ was a bully who threatened to crash into him on purpose.
“I find it all quite ironic considering (that on) Saturday night he said he’s going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, ‘Put me on my f***ing head in the wall’,” Russell said.
“So to question someone’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 can’t deal with adversity.
“Whenever anything has gone against him... he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race his 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 — and we fight hard — it’s part of racing.
“But he’s taken it too far now.”
Awkward F1 photo says it all
The tensions were on display at a season ending dinner of the F1 drivers, believed to be organised by Lewis Hamilton.
Photos of the get together showed Russell and Verstappen seated at opposite ends of the table and well apart from each other as the drivers posed for a photo.
Lando Norris captioned the photo on Instagram: “2024 dinner! and yes, the two your thinking about were sat as far away from each other as possible.”
Verstappen commented with a steak emoji in apparent reference to his beef with Russell.
Russell uploaded the dinner photo with the caption “Class of ‘24”.
Esteban Ocon wrote: “That was a fun night cheers for organising @lewishamilton always great to get all together, bunch of legends all around.”
Russell’s criticism of Verstappen went even further talking to F1 reporters.
“Max has gone personal. He’s crossed the line and I’m not going to stand for it from someone who thinks he’s above the law,” Russell said.
“He said he would put me on my f***ing head. Somebody has to stand up to a guy like this before it gets out of control.
“I’ve known him 12 years and now I’ve lost respect for him. He’s made it personal and someone needs to stand up to a bully. People have let him get away with murder.
“He can’t deal with adversity. Whenever things aren’t going his way he lashes out with anger and violence.”
Verstappen is not taking a backwards step after hearing those comments.
For the record, Verstappen went on to win the Grand Prix, while Russell piloted his Mercedes to finish fourth.
The Dutchman has maintained all along the only reason he received the penalty was because Russell persuaded stewards to take action.
“I have no regrets at all, because I meant everything I said,” Verstappen said.
“If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more!
“Knowing the outcome of the race, I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in the stewards’ room.
“For me, that was so unacceptable because, I mean, we are all racing drivers.
“We have a lot of respect for each other. We even play sports together, travel together and, of course, you have moments where you get together and crash or whatever when you are not happy.
“I just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about what I was doing, but it clearly had an influence on them.”
Russell insisted he would not attempt to clear the air with his rival, saying it was Verstappen’s “problem to deal with”.
“You can go beyond the line in making a slight misjudgement, but going out of your way to say you’ll purposefully crash into someone and put them on their head is beyond the line.”
Verstappen also said Russell’s accusations don’t even make sense.
“George is a bully. That he brings up all these kinds of things,” he said.
“He is just a loser. He lies and sticks all kinds of things together that are not correct.
“What he said about 2021, that is also what happened to the stewards. He insinuates a lot of things that do not make sense.”
— with AFP
Originally published as ‘Head in a f***ing wall’: F1 dinner photo goes viral as driver feud goes nuclear
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