F1 Azerbaijan GP: “Hopefully he’s learned the risk,” George Russell nonchalantly shrugs off his confrontation with a raging Max Verstappen

George Russell was surprised at Max Verstappen's anger towards for him their Azerbaijan GP sprint collision - but he was not fazed by it in the slightest.

F1 Azerbaijan GP: “Hopefully he’s learned the risk,” George Russell nonchalantly shrugs off his confrontation with a raging Max Verstappen

George Russell (L) | Max Verstappen (R)

Red Bull came out on top once again, this time in the Azerbaijan GP sprint. This time it was Sergio Perez, but possibly, Max Verstappen could have troubled him for the win. That is, if not for a first-lap incident with George Russell. The pair of them had been tussling into turn one, and into turn 2, Russell squeezed Verstappen to the outside a bit. In the process, he made contact with the Dutchman’s left side pod, which created a hole there, and possibly gave him floor damage.

He was not penalized, of course, it was deemed a racing incident. But Verstappen clearly was not happy about it. He ranted about it a couple of times on the radio, and did not understand how the Briton was allowed to keep the position. Nonetheless, on the restart, Verstappen almost instantly overtook Russell. His engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, said over the radio following this: “Lovely job, Max. Without contact as well.” But Russell himself refused to take blame for the incident.

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When they discussed it after the race, Verstappen ended the ‘confrontation’ by calling Russell a ‘d**khead’. For his part, the Briton did not expect the Red Bull man to be so angry. As per Motorsport.com, he said: “When he first came over, I thought he was going to say, ‘Nice battle and it was a nice fight’. I was surprised at how angry he was. From my side, his position was already lost and ever since eight years old in go-karting, if you’re on the inside at the apex of a corner, it’s your corner.”

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Further, he affirmed his commitment to fighting for every position. Russell said: “If a driver is trying to resist on the outside, they’re taking a huge risk. On lap one on a street circuit, I was really quite shocked he was holding the position. But equally I’m here to fight, I’m here to win, I’m not just going to wave him by because he’s Max Verstappen in a Red Bull.”

Read More: F1 Azerbaijan GP: “I am here to fight,” George Russell warns Max Verstappen following ‘di**head’ comment

George Russell: Max Verstappen would have “done exactly the same” thing

George Russell and Max Verstappen
George Russell and Max Verstappen

It was certainly hard racing, though opinions on who is more to blame in this instance will vary, depending on allegiances. Max Verstappen, himself has a reputation for hard, on-the-limit racing. But since acquiring a more ‘competitive’ car, he has calmed down to an extent. Still, George Russell feels the Dutchman would have done the same if the places were reversed. He told Sky Sports: “From my side, the moves were all on. If the roles were reversed, I’m sure he would have done exactly the same.”

The British driver continued: “It’s part of racing. We’ll move on, we’re big boys, this is Formula 1. I wouldn’t have tried holding it around the outside on lap one of a street circuit. The driver on the inside has got the inside line and the corner is already lost.” He hopes that Verstappen learned the risk of overtaking on the outside: “We always say between us as drivers, if you’re trying to overtake on the outside, you know the risk. Hopefully he’s learned the risk today.”

The two will probably not come across each other in tomorrow’s race, so it’s easy to rule out potential fireworks. Verstappen will start in P2, while Russell will start in P11, after a struggle-filled Q2, and Friday in general. The two have already gone wheel-to-wheel this season, and it’s best to keep an eye out for any potential battles in the future.

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