Max Verstappen breaks silence on “shockingly bad” friendship with George Russell
Max Verstappen revealed his current friendship with George Russell following their fallout towards the end of the 2024 season.
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Max Verstappen and George Russell (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and George Russell faced a massive war of words at the closing stages of the 2024 season. The two drivers did not speak much about the issues after the end of the previous year. However, the media did not let the issues go and kept on pestering Verstappen about his relationship with Russell. Now, the Dutchman has shockingly revealed the details about his friendship with the Briton.
Max Verstappen and George Russell had a massive fallout in friendship due to the latter’s alleged ‘snitching’ to the stewards at the 2023 Qatar GP. Verstappen had called Russel a ‘two-faced person‘ and highlighted that he acted differently in front of the cameras. The Briton furthered the matter and noted that the 27-year-old was a rash driver with no regard for the safety of the others.
At the Australian GP, Verstappen and Russell shared the podium after finishing in P2 and P3 respectively. Following a positive outing for both drivers in Australia, the two were questioned regarding their current relationship. Upon this, the Dutchman immediately came up with a snarky but hilarious answer.
Verstappen sarcastically pointed out that his relationship with Russell was still shockingly bad. Even Russell had a huge grin on his face after listening to this. The Dutchman immediately backed down on his joke and revealed that there were no further issues between the two. The 27-year-old ended his comment by highlighting that everything was ‘good’ between them.
It’s still shockingly bad, I mean, it’s all good.
Max Verstappen said at the Australian GP press conference.
Max Verstappen applauds Red Bull’s ‘sensible call’ at the rain-laden Australian GP
The tricky wet conditions in and around the Australian GP caused multiple changes to the team’s strategy in the race. Max Verstappen had just pit for the Medium compounds as it started to rain again. Red Bull was left to decide when to pit Verstappen to maximize their chances of gaining position against McLaren. With around 15 or 16 laps to go, the Dutchman pitted his car and switched to Inters to potentially finish in P2 behind Lando Norris.
Verstappen reckoned that he pitted two laps later than the team planned to do so originally. The Dutchman believed that the decision to pit later was a big unknown as it could have cost them the whole race. However, the 27-year-old maintained his position and finished in P2 following Oscar Piastri‘s blunder. Hence, he labeled the decision to pit later as ‘sensible’ as it allowed him to control tire degradation in his battle against Norris in the final stages of the race.
Two more laps! We were on the Medium, and of course, you never know how that’s going to work out. I thought it was quite a sensible call with 15, 16, or 20 laps to go when the Safety Car came out.
Max Verstappen said, as reported by GPblog.
Max Verstappen claims Red Bull’s risk ‘didn’t matter’ in the end
Red Bull’s risky strategy was carried out to maximize Max Verstappen’s chances of finishing P2 in the end. The Dutchman faced a stern competition from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in front. Verstappen likely wouldn’t have been able to overtake Piastri if it wasn’t for the latter’s mistake. As a result, the 27-year-old reckoned that Red Bull’s risky strategy didn’t matter in the end.
Verstappen pointed out that even if he pitted with Norris, he would’ve finished P2 at the end. Moreover, pitting one lap later or two laps later probably would have given the same outcome. Hence, the strategy didn’t matter much despite the team trying out something new. The 27-year-old revealed that in a way, the risk didn’t work out in the end despite him not losing positions.
In hindsight, it wouldn’t have mattered. If I’d boxed with Lando, it would have been P2. If I’d boxed the next lap, it would have been P2 and the lap that I did box, I was also P2. So, we tried something else—it might have worked. In a way, it didn’t work, but we didn’t lose any position, so it’s fine.
Max Verstappen noted.
Red Bull still has multiple issues in the challenger that they need to work on immediately. Milton Keynes might lose the chance at championship contention early on if they do not find massive grounds for improvement. The rivals seem to have developed highly capable machinery in the final year of the ground-effect era. Therefore, time will tell about how the 2025 season pans out for the Austrian constructor in their championship ambitions.
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