George Russell fires Max Verstappen shot as F1 tensions swirl

Verstappen and Russell after qualifying at Lusail — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

George Russell fires Max Verstappen shot as F1 tensions swirl

George Russell and Max Verstappen's war of words continues

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 13 June 2025 10:36 Updated: 20:04

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Mercedes F1 star George Russell has said that he doesn't fear anybody being his team-mate, having spent three seasons alongside seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Russell beat Hamilton in the standings in two of the three years they spent together, including in their first year as team-mates back in 2022.

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Since Hamilton left the Brackley outfit to move to Ferrari, Russell has thrived in a team leader role at Mercedes alongside talented youngster Kimi Antonelli, with the Brit having already picked up four podiums in 2025.

Despite this, it is 18-year-old Antonelli who is being talked up as a future world champion rather than Russell, with both drivers' futures still not secured at Mercedes beyond the end of this current season.

Now, Russell has suggested that he doesn't fear having anybody as his team-mate, even sticking the boot in a little on fierce rival Max Verstappen.

The pair have been engaged in a war of words ever since last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Russell called the four-time champion a 'bully', and their relationship was not helped by Verstappen appearing to intentionally crash into the Brit at the recent Spanish GP.

"I've always said that I'm not afraid of being someone's team-mate," Russell told MotorsportTotal.com. "At the end of 2021, Lewis was the hottest stock in the field.

"No one would have thought that someone at Mercedes could beat him as a team-mate. I came in and performed from the first race. I always believed in myself.

"The reputation he had is the same one Max has now. No one believes that Max is beatable, and the same was thought about Lewis back then.

"People forget that Lewis came into Formula 1 as a rookie - and was on the podium every time in his first six races, with a two-time world champion as team-mate. That says a lot."

Russell's remarkable 2022 season

Having been at Williams for the first three seasons of his career, Russell joined Mercedes when the team were off the back of eight consecutive constructors' championships, and Hamilton had just suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Verstappen in the 2021 drivers' championship.

Despite Mercedes' struggles, Russell knuckled down and managed to finish fourth in the drivers' championship, 35 points ahead of Hamilton with eight podiums and one race victory.

It was the season that launched the young Brit's career, and he went on to add two more wins across the next two seasons.

Despite being winless in 2025, the consistency on show and the ability to mix it with Verstappen and the two McLarens at the front has shown a new maturity to Russell, and he will be hoping to challenge for his first world championship in 2026.

If rumours are to be believed, Russell could well end up with Verstappen alongside him in the future, with the Dutchman being strongly linked with a move away from Red Bull due to their performance struggles and certain exit clauses within his contract.