George Russell says Max Verstappen made threats at Qatar

Tensions between Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen and fellow driver George Russell are heating up ahead of Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Addressing ESPN and a few other media outlets Thursday, Russell alleged that Verstappen threatened to "purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and 'put me on my (expletive) head in the wall,'" ahead of last week's race in Qatar.

The Mercedes driver was responding to comments made by Red Bull's Verstappen in the stewards' room after an incident during last week's qualifying. Verstappen lost his pole position after receiving a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell during qualifying.

After Verstappen went on to win the race, he accused Russell of being two-faced during an interview for Dutch TV.

"You know what it is? He acts decent in front of the camera here, but when you talk to him personally, he is a different person," Verstappen said. "... I can't stand that. In that case you can better (expletive) off."

On Thursday, Russell said it was "quite ironic" that Verstappen would question his integrity.

"I'm not going to sit here and accept it," Russell said. "People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you can't question his driving abilities. But he cannot deal with adversity.

"Whenever anything has gone against him ... he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race the car wasn't dominant, crashing into Lewis (Hamilton), slamming his team. ... As I said, for me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary.

"Because what happens on track, we fight hard, that's part of racing. What happens in the stewards' room, you fight hard, but it's never personal. But he's taken it too far now."

Red Bull Racing did not immediately respond to ESPN's request for comment.

Verstappen, 27, clinched his fourth consecutive world championship this season on the strength of nine wins and 19 top-five finishes.

Russell, 26, ranks sixth in the F1 standings after recording two wins and 11 top-five finishes during the 2024 season.

--Field Level Media