There was nothing to separate Max Verstappen and George Russell on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix. Both lapped the Circuit de Catalunya in one minute, 11’848 seconds and the pair shared the second row of the grid.
There was little between them in the final laps as well, as they disputed fourth place at turn one and later clashed controversially at turn five.This was the latest in a series of exchanges between the pair whose relationship at first seemed no better than cool, then clearly deteriorated following their clash in Qatar last year.
Prior to then, the most noteworthy exchange between the pair occured during the 2023 sprint race in Baku. Verstappen branded Russell a “dickhead” after they tangled while disputing third place. “I’m not just going to wave him by because he’s Max Verstappen in a Red Bull,” remarked Russell afterwards.
The stewards took no interest in that clash, but Verstappen was furious when they acted on an incident between the pair the following year at the penultimate round in Losail. They handed him a one-place grid penalty after ruling he impeded Russell while they were preparing to start their flying laps in qualifying.
Verstappen accused Russell of exaggerating the situation in his comments to the stewards. “In my whole career, I’ve never experienced what I have experienced in the stewards’ room in Qatar,” he said. “For me, that was really unacceptable.”
Russell dismissed his complaints and claimed his rival threatened to cause a collision between them. “I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says ‘I’m going to purposefully crash into you, I’m going to put you on your fucking head in the wall,” he said. “For me, that isn’t acceptable.”
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The mutual antagonism has built over the 10 races since. When Verstappen cut across the turn one run-off in Jeddah to reclaim the lead from Oscar Piastri, Russell following behind offered his two penn’orth on the radio: “I presume Verstappen is going to have to give [up] this place?” He didn’t, and the stewards penalised him.
These skirmishes paled in comparison to the events of Spain, as covered last week. The trigger for the collision was Red Bull’s decision Verstappen should give up his fourth place. It’s hard to imagine any driver he might have been less inclined to hand a position to than Russell.
Following their latest collision, Russell called Verstappen’s driving another example of the unacceptable tactics he’d highlighted previously. “I just got crashed into,” he said. “That’s how Max goes racing.”
However criticism of Verstappen’s driving from elsewhere in Mercedes was more muted. Team principal Toto Wolff appeared keen to give the benefit of the doubt to the driver who’d just swiped into one of his cars. “I need to see the whole situation, but if it was road rage, then it’s not good,” he remarked.
Both Russell and Wolff appear to have the same thought in the back of their minds: the possibility Verstappen could become a Mercedes driver one day. That may well be decided by what happens when the new power units arrive next year. In the meantime, Russell is out of contract at the end of next year and the greatest threat to his position clearly comes from Verstappen, if he indeed wants out of his Red Bull contract early.
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Almost 10 years have passed since Wolff had to referee the occasionally self-destructive pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Russell appears to have realised his knack for getting under Verstappen’s skin can help make his case to remain a Mercedes driver, reminding Wolff of past headaches he’d prefer not to repeat. It’s also helped push Verstappen to the brink of an automatic race ban.
This is no longer the ordinary kind of rivalry between two F1 drivers with designs on winning the world championship. Neither has a particularly strong claim to the 2025 title as the McLaren drivers pulled further ahead in Spain. Verstappen might regard Piastri as his main rival in that respect, and they have had run-ins too, but the four-times champion speaks of the current points leader in the kind of glowing terms it’s hard to imagine him ever applying to Russell.
There is real needle between Verstappen and Russell: a clash of styles and personalities which has culminated in a breakdown of mutual respect. Russell regards his opponent as a “bully”; Verstappen accuses the Mercedes driver of being two-faced.
The pair are unlikely to have any complimentary words for each other when the championship resumes in Montreal this week. And expect more fireworks if they meet on-track again at the circuit where, 12 months ago they shared the front row of the grid, again separated by nothing to within a thousandth of a second.
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2025 Spanish Grand Prix
- Verstappen versus Russell is Formula 1’s best grudge match for years
- “I tried to push him in the marbles”: Leclerc’s radio sheds light on Verstappen clash
- Alonso now has the second-longest run of win-less starts by any F1 driver
- “The worst it’s ever been”: Hamilton’s front wing headaches during Spanish GP
- Red Bull endured “sobering” weekend after pinning hopes on rule change – Marko
HUHHII (@huhhii)
9th June 2025, 12:02
Nah. Russell is so incredibly meh and uninteresting this “grudge” is of no importance. This is nothing like Häkkinen-Schumacher or Prost-Senna rivalries.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
9th June 2025, 12:55
@huhhii the closest Hakkinen-Schumacher came to boiling over in F1 was after Spa 2000 when Mika demonstrated to Michael by hand how his late move at Kemmel nearly sent him flying.
I think they were closer to having a clash at the Macau GP in 1990 when they collided.
Jonathan Parkin
9th June 2025, 13:12
And that got settled quite easily when Hakkinen had a quiet word after the race
Chris Horton
9th June 2025, 18:45
Schumacher and Hakkinen had the utmost respect for each other and never said a bad word as far as I can remember.
Mika explained his feelings in Spa and Michael took it onboard. They always spoke about each other with the highest regard.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 14:02
There was no Mika Michael grudge, if you were there you should know that
anon
9th June 2025, 15:04
That particular poster is Finnish and has repeatedly made it clear that they have a very biased view of the world. Whilst most normal people recognise that there really wasn’t the sort of antagonist relationship between those two drivers, they want to claim that it was more adversarial to justify a particular narrative around Hakkinen.
osnola
9th June 2025, 16:26
LOL
You are one of them ;)
anon
9th June 2025, 22:01
osnola, well, we can see below quite how unbalanced your opinions are – then again, you’ve been cropping up elsewhere posting Dutch ultra-nationalist propaganda, so perhaps it’s not surprising to see how you respond here.
osnola
10th June 2025, 13:46
@anon
thats interesting..(and surprising for those who know me ;) any examples or just your daily rubbish remarks?
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 14:12
Hakkinen and Schumacher had an amicable rivalry. Both liked each other. However, yes, it is comical to call this a great rivalry let alone the best grudge match in years. Maybe the hottest media grudge match in months.
But Max is the villain of the moment and George is arguably the best British driver currently. So, of course it’s an epic grudge match for the ages…
Mayrton
10th June 2025, 7:02
I agree, it is more like the Hamilton-Massa beef from some years ago where you realise it shouldn’t be Massa you are tangling with since your fight needs to be with someone more at the front of the field. Same goes for Max-George. George is not in the same category as Max, just as much as Massa wasn’t in Lewis’.
DAH
11th June 2025, 7:22
Hunt/Lauda
XM (@xmf1)
9th June 2025, 12:06
How much did George pay you to write this?
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 13:57
Yeah, it’s almost as intense Lewis vs Heikki.
Grudge match. lol… Russell needs to be a threat on the track. Not just the microphone to earn the badge of rival let alone nemesis.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
9th June 2025, 12:21
Nah… no way. For something juicy to happen, Russell would’ve to be less mouth and more action, and currently he’s not. If Piastri was making those comments, hell yeah, bring it on, proper meltdown. But Russell? he’s in a different league.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
9th June 2025, 12:37
I used to think George was a bit of a pretty boy and nothing else.
However, I like the cut of his jib, when it comes to Max.
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 14:21
First time I’ve ever heard George referred to as “pretty.” Maybe you meant to say smug.
Anyway, I picked him as my dark horse title contender in the pre-season questionnaire / predictions. He started out fulfilling that prediction to a tee and while he’s now rapidly falling behind the McLarens, he is still running very close to the highest scoring of the non-McLarens.
anon
9th June 2025, 22:12
Genghis Blond, it’s tended to be used in the context of personal attacks on Russell that have sought to portray him as being overly effeminate, sometimes also being coupled with homophobic slurs being thrown in his direction.
DavidS (@davids)
9th June 2025, 13:14
I think George just likes the fact that he can get under Max’s skin.
He’s playing the long game in the hope that one day he’s in a position to fight for the championship, and it’s probably going to be Max that he’s competing against. He’s learning what buttons he can push with Max now, so that in future he can push them and Max self-sabotages in a series of temper tantrums.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
9th June 2025, 14:25
As far as I can tell, he doesn’t get under Max’s skin at all given the amount of Fs Max gives about George. If anything is the other way around.
Effwon (@effwon)
9th June 2025, 20:47
Gave enough of an F to crash into him though.
mystic one (@mysticus)
9th June 2025, 22:39
absolutely anything that doesnt go max’s way, or anyone that doesnt go out of max’s way, max gives all the Fs about.
When in a Brazil race and he had no need to compete with a backmarker, he gave a F and you know his temper’s results..
When he had the competitive car to go toe to toe with Lewis, his attitude and Fs, toned up!
When he had to compete with his team mate (cough, ricardo) his attitude and Fs toned up rather quickly!
Since McLarens can compete with Max nicely, again Max’s attitude and Fs toned up to a point he wrote off his closest friend/buddy for years. Lando.
Dont say he doesnt get under Max’s skin, anyone and anything can/does get under Max’s skin, when he has the slightest fear of not being ahead! be it his car, problems, chance, butterfly flaps… whatever
Robbie1
9th June 2025, 13:35
No it’s not.
Russell is a backstabbing rat and only toxic rats cheer for backstabbing rats!
He’ll have a cheerleader on (running) this site though….
The pathetic toxicity of certain “media outlets” is a great reflection of modern day society!
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 13:53
Gosh you’re so angry, did Russell talk to you in an unacceptable way?
Assume you support drivers ramming others on purpose?
Before you answer, deep breaths
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 14:01
Ramming others on purpose requires a deep breath alright…on the part of the “rammee.”
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 14:21
or his last if it goes wrong.
Its amazing that so many Max fans have spent years saying Lewis tried to kill him at Silverstone in 2021 yet defend the indefensible right now. Says a lot, about his online fans anyway. At the track, people are much more measured
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 14:26
I was not defending him nor do I like Max. However, it’s pretty amusing to imply that Max could have badly injured George or worse bumping him tires-to-tires at roughly 40mph. On the other hand, while Lewis is a clean driver, he actually did knowingly launch Max into a massive accident. I personally hand no problem with it, but F1 fans on both sides of the fence are hilariously soft now.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 15:31
weeee, everything is so funny to you! Lewis just didnt give up the corner. It was XXXX dangerous for both drivers but Max still turned in.
If you think t- boning a car that isnt designed to take those hits is funny then you embarrass yourself. I dont know the hit speed but it was never 40mph. He may have slowed to let George through but he accelerated hard afterwards. Maybe you were too busy laughing to notice
osnola
9th June 2025, 16:37
You are suggesting things that are not there.
Lewis did attacked max in silverstone 21
mad did try to ram george in spain.
The difference is about 200KM/h and a touch without damage or a almost killed driver with a totalled car.
If you do not see the difference the f1 sport is not for you i guess.
SteveP
9th June 2025, 20:10
@Osnola
Well, someone is suggesting things that aren’t there, and as ever, it appears to be you.
If Max had turned in a fraction later, or simply aimed slightly left of the perfect apex, there would have been no contact.
You can keep repeating the fallacy of “attempted murder”* until the world ends, and it won’t make it true.
*I can’t recall whether that one is (C) Marko or Horner
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 21:54
Dyed in the wool Hamilton fans can’t really give an objective take on the Silverstone incident or really anything related to Max as illustrated by Steve and Tony yet to them it’s clear their take is both obvious and unimpeachable. If Max behaves unacceptably, there’s always a need to exaggerate the severity and if Lewis does something controversial the opposite. That’s how we get to “Max could have killed George and should have been banned for at least a race!” and “Lewis had every right to send Max barrel rolling into fence at 150mph because he got half his nose ahead taking a tighter normal line!” while ignoring the fact he got a penalty.
Basically, if it’s Hamilton and the other driver is Max or Alonso, there’s really no way for Lewis or George to ever be in the wrong.
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 22:06
@tonymansell
What a devastating response…to nothing I said or which happened:
-I never said I found the incident funny, but you’ve “cleverly” conflated my amusement at your interpretation, which somehow finds this low speed bump a potential lethal move while Hamilton’s penalized move at Copse fully legit and not dangerous
-Max didn’t t-bone George. Maybe you’re new to this whole cars things in general, but t-boning means to strike a car that is driving perpendicular in the center of the car (see locking Hamilton in Miami T1 last year), not driving alongside and striking at a parallel angle with wheel-to-wheel contact
-“hit in an area of the car not designed for it:” uh, he hit George in exactly the one place modern F1 cars are designed to take contact: the tires in a lateral direction
But, sure, go on ahead making up your own version of events and even other people’s comments.
DAH
11th June 2025, 7:25
Tony Mansell. Im not necessarily a Max fan but the truth is that Hamilton did try to kill him in 2021
Wellbalanced
9th June 2025, 13:40
The point made about Russell’s and Woolf’s currently contrasting statements re Verstappen is a good one. Russell has every reason to want to try and ensure that Verstappen does not take a Mercedes seat, and therefore to make Verstappen out to be a flawed character; Woolf has every reason to want to keep his driver options open, and therefore to keep his utterances on Verstappen relatively muted.
If Verstappen ceases being an option for Mercedes, then I would expect to see Russell and Woolf ad idem again.
XM (@xmf1)
10th June 2025, 6:33
Well said. I’m sure Lewis realised this over the years, at the end of the day Toto is still a businessman. In business, friends come second. I mean look what happened to Bottas. Lewis knew he was going down that route when Kimi became a viable option, so he left, friends be damned. George needs to learn this.
Todfod (@todfod)
10th June 2025, 12:39
Wolff was almost defending Max.. which is absolutely crazy given how their relationship was in the 2021 season. Post-Lewis, the only driver Toto seemed really interested in signing was Max. His pursuit of Max is the most laughable right now. He’s ready to throw George under the bus, but not offend Max in anyway till the 2026 driver line ups are confirmed.
tielemst
10th June 2025, 14:58
Yes, it almost sounds as if an agreement is already there. Maybe not on paper yet, but still..
MichaelN
9th June 2025, 13:41
Seems like they have a good grasp of the situation. Hard to disagree with either assessment.
On the whole, Russell is little more than a distraction for Verstappen. An annoyance, but largely inconsequential.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 13:54
Depends on the car. Russell is an outstanding qualifier and if they get the 2026 regs right, he will be right up there. No doubt
Peat Smoke
9th June 2025, 14:43
That’s a very good assessment. Russell is more of an annoying insect that sometimes disturbs the apex predator. He’s of little importance, because he’s never showed Max, on the track, that he’s no pushover, like Charles and Oscar. They’ve earned Verstappen’s respect, George has only earned contempt through his yapping.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
9th June 2025, 15:47
SO he deliberately spears him. What a guy. Max lost a lot of friends with that move. He gained a lot of sycophants by the look of it
Peat Smoke
9th June 2025, 16:16
Yeah, it was fun, 10/10 entertainment. Stupid, given the consequences, but it gave me a good laugh. Tell me more about those lost friends, Max probably didn’t know, or could care less about. I bet he’s depressed about losing nothing.
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 22:17
He speared him now? Like a fish on the end of sharpened stick? Tony Mansell, ladies and gentlemen: the flip side of the coin to Max fanatics who say things like “Max was unfairly penalized!”
And, like above, you’re once again twisting people’s words. Smoke literally calls Max a bully, but now he’s a Max “sycophant” because he said George is two-faced? So, it’s either poor reading comprehension again or an intentional misrepresentation again.
The Dolphins
9th June 2025, 14:29
No rivalry, George just understands Max’s MO and given the opportunity he exploits it (as any racer would.) Max however seems to have an issue with anyone sharing the same part of the track as him, he seems to be the common factor in these “rivalries”
David BR (@david-br)
9th June 2025, 14:54
Verstappen seems to dislike Russell or whatever he has to say to reporters, which clearly adds spice to the moments when they clash during races. It would be 2021 level if they were in the top two cars and competing for the title, probably worse as I think GR is far less likely to stay cool than Hamilton. But this year they’re scrapping for the McLaren leftovers. So there’s likely to be more on-track clashes and off-track off remarks, but it won’t ever be as intense as a championship battle. This year anyhow. Maybe one for the future.
uzsjgb (@uzsjgb)
9th June 2025, 15:02
Russell’s problem is that he knows that his contract extension depends on Verstappen. If Verstappen wants to go to Mercedes, then Russell is out. Everyone else knows this too, so any comments Russell makes about Verstappen will be seen in this light.
HW Small
9th June 2025, 18:28
Meanwhile, the McLaren duo are off in the distance quietly getting on with dominating this season.
As a McLaren fan who like many others suffered through the fallow years (all the more painful as I was living a couple of miles from the MTC for a decade of that time and never got to see their h.q. signage lit up after a win), I have to that Max and George for their service :)
Stoo
11th June 2025, 13:52
+1 :)
bull mello (@bullmello)
9th June 2025, 20:03
What about Norris or Hamilton?
Not any more?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
9th June 2025, 20:41
It reminds me of those other epic rivalries in F1 history, such as Ayrton Senna vs Derek Warwick and Michael Schumacher vs Johnny Herbert. Surely the British driver would be just as successful, if the other chap wasn’t so unfair.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
9th June 2025, 21:57
And Mansell against horrid Prost. In the end, leaving it to the imagination probably does Warwick a favour. Elio de Angelis looked pretty good against Senna in 1985, but I guess he could see, on the horizon, lots of trouble (usually serious).
Genghis Blond
9th June 2025, 22:44
It may even reach the status Button’s and Checo’s infamous 2013 grudge match. The super clean, always respecting the rules and his competitors Russell against the Orange Menace is bringing us wild stuff like George’s near-death experience in Spain, the time Max forced George to put a hole in his side pod in Baku or poor George being robbed of pole and an easy in Qatar by that slippery Max. Luckily, Johnny Herbert got revenge for himself AND George in Australia last season.
slowmo (@slowmo)
9th June 2025, 23:53
Came in expecting the Verstappen fans to be downplaying, crying about media bias and what abouting everything and was not disappointed. Almost as unlikable as their favourite driver.
Luke S (@joeypropane)
10th June 2025, 8:40
I mean, we literally only just had a season between Lewis and Max that went down to a tie-breaker in the most controversial season finisher in decades… Until these 2 are genuinely fighting for a title, any disagreements between them are fairly inconsequential.
Esmiz (@esmiz)
10th June 2025, 9:22
I’m not a big fan of Russell, but in my opinion, Verstappen needs someone like that, to sing his praises. Just like in the Schumacher era where the german had too many drivers ‘under control’ and only Montoya or Villenueve (and later, Alonso) dared to get on his nerves, now Verstappen seems to have a large part of the grid ‘tamed’ and I am glad that there is someone who is able to answer him, not only on the track but also off it.
Whether Russell is more or less right is another thing (for me, on this occasion he is, on others, maybe not so much), the important thing is that Max knows that he will have someone in front of him willing to confront him if necessary.
As a viewer I can only be grateful for that. Norris’s buddy-buddy attitude sometimes gets a bit unbearable.
David BR (@david-br)
10th June 2025, 12:10
@esmiz +1
There are a few drivers able to challenge Verstappen on track when need be – Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri (Verstappen has Alonso tamed in another way as his-appointed ‘protegy’). But Russell is the only one willing or able to back that rivalry up with off-track attitude. Hence the constant Verstappen sarcasm. As we know from his confrontation of Ocon in Brazil years back, he’ll take his intimidation tactics off-track too. That’s why I was never put out by Russell going over to remonstrate with Bottas when they collided in Spa (I think). A bit of attitude is good and having Verstappen as the only driver on the grid willing to show some isn’t.
DAH
11th June 2025, 7:33
“There are a few drivers able to challenge Verstappen on track when need be – Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri”
David BR. Hamilton can only qualify for your statement if he has a car 2 sec per lap faster than anyone else.
Genghis Blond
11th June 2025, 10:31
lol, Alonso tamed. Until the second he has a car to actually compete. Then he’d wipe Max out in a second. Pretty naive to think otherwise.
JMDan (@danmar)
10th June 2025, 17:25
“Norris’s buddy-buddy attitude sometimes gets a bit unbearable.” Agreed.
tielemst
10th June 2025, 15:12
This? A grudge match? So Verstappen drove into him and got penalised (lightly), but what else? The talking to the stewards after a non issue during qualification in Qatar? Until these guys actually start racing each other on a regular basis there’s nothing but a bit of tossing handbags here.
Genghis Blond
11th June 2025, 10:33
It’s the British F1 media flattering their own drivers again. I get it though. F1 media in other countries do the same thing. But, yeah, come on. Where’s the grudge match? Russell has never been a thorn in Max’s side anywhere besides the microphone and stewards’ room.
JMDan (@danmar)
10th June 2025, 17:23
Which one took his ball and went home?
JMDan (@danmar)
10th June 2025, 17:28
It’s entertaining to see just as much competition in the comments as on the track!!
Genghis Blond
11th June 2025, 10:34
And far less convivial! lol