George Russell fed up of 'bully' Max Verstappen

Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has revealed that George Russell's 'bully' rant aimed at Max Verstappen last year was pre-planned.

Russell and Verstappen have been engaged in a war of words since the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, when four-time champion Verstappen suggested Russell had played a pivotal role in the Dutchman getting his pole position stripped from him.

At the Abu Dhabi GP next time around, Russell stood in front of the media and launched a scathing attack at Verstappen, suggesting he was a 'bully', and alleging that he had threatened to crash into Russell, something that Verstappen denied saying.

Fast forward to 2025, and the pair were at it again early on in the season, when Verstappen appeared to purposely crash into Russell at the Spanish GP, before Russell warned that the Dutchman needs to think more carefully about the impression he is leaving on younger viewers.

Now, Kravitz has revealed that Russell's media attack on Verstappen was pre-planned, with the Brit seemingly fed up with the Dutchman's 'bad-mouthing' tactics.

"A minute before his time slot, up strode George," Kravitz revealed in his new book Notes from the Pit Lane. "He called me over to the edge of the pen - 'make sure you ask me a follow-up question'.

"'What do you mean?', I asked. [He replied] 'I’m going to give it back to Max. I’ve had enough of him bad-mouthing me in the press, and I’m going to call him out on his bullying tactics.

"'I know you’re only supposed to ask me one question, but never mind that, I’m up for as many questions as you like'."

Verstappen v Russell rivalry hotting up

Russell and Verstappen have been two of the outstanding drivers on the grid in 2025, currently sat third and fourth in the drivers' championship respectively.

Verstappen has four wins in 2025, and Russell two wins and six further podiums, in a season in which both of their teams have been blown away by McLaren. It could well be an interesting battle in 2025 to see which of the two drivers can seal third spot in the championship, with Russell currently 36 points behind the four-time world champion.

Ex-F1 racer Johnny Herbert has recently revealed that he believes next season's championship battle could well be a two-horse race between Verstappen and Russell, with Mercedes rumoured to be in a good place to be able to master the 2026 regulation changes.

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