F1 reporter exposes George Russell's calculated media attack against Max Verstappen

Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz has revealed that George Russell's lengthy verbal attack against Max Verstappen before the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, which made headlines and went viral on social media, was a premeditated move. The Mercedes driver had gone up to Kravitz a minute before the scheduled interview time slot and instructed him to purposely ask a question about his incident with Verstappen a week before in Qatar.

The two drivers butted heads after the Qatar GP qualifying, where Verstappen earned pole position, only to be stripped of it later for impeding Russell. There was apparently a heated exchange between the duo in the stewards' room later. But because the Mercedes driver was on his outlap and not a timed lap, the Red Bull driver was let off easier with a one-place penalty. Nonetheless, it handed Russell pole position.

A week later, during the Abu Dhabi GP race weekend, George Russell went on a well-articulated rant against the Red Bull driver for being a 'bully' who "cannot deal with adversity and lashes out with unnecessary anger and borderline violence." Ted Kravitz has revealed in his new book, F1 Insider: Notes from the Pit Lane, that Russell's monologue was planned and unprompted.

"A week after Qatar, when Russell arrived at the Abu Dhabi track, he was in no mood to let the Verstappen situation lie," Kravitz wrote (as quoted by F1oversteer). "I’d spent the day interviewing drivers at the TV pen, but hadn’t yet heard any earth-shattering stories. A minute before his time slot, up strode George. He called me over to the edge of the pen – ‘make sure you ask me a follow-up question’." “What do you mean?’ I asked. [He replied] ‘I’m going to give it back to Max. I’ve had enough of him bad-mouthing me in the press, and I’m going to call him out on his bullying tactics. I know you’re only supposed to ask me one question, but never mind that, I’m up for as many questions as you like.’ Before checking to see if he was wearing a Drive to Survive microphone, I asked him if he was absolutely sure he wanted to escalate what was effectively last year’s story, and start a new fight with Max – never an easy battle to win. He said he was positive, and away he went."

Max Verstappen called George Russell a "loser" and a "backstabber" in response

Max Verstappen with George Russell at the F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Qualifying - Source: Getty

One part of George Russell's rant was concerned with a certain happening in the stewards' room meeting. He alleged that Max Verstappen threatened to "put me on my f****** head in the wall" at the Qatar GP race start.

When the four-time F1 champion was presented with that accusation, he claimed Russell was "exaggerating again." The Red Bull driver was then made aware of all of Russell's comments in Abu Dhabi, to which he replied (via ESPN):

"Yeah, but George is a backstabber. The way he brings up all this nonsense, he's just a loser. He lies and cobbles things together that don't add up. I only voiced my opinion about his behavior with the stewards. Clearly, he couldn't handle that."

George Russell and Max Verstappen's paths crossed again this year, albeit not violently, when Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed interest in signing the Dutchman for 2026. However, nothing came of it, and Verstappen committed to Red Bull. Yet, Russell's contract situation remains undecided.

Edited by Yash Kotak