Red Bull star reveals Max Verstappen-Russell feud prank gone WRONG

Max Verstappen, George Russell, Qatar, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull star reveals Verstappen-Russell feud prank gone WRONG

Max Verstappen and George Russell had a public falling out at the end of 2024

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 23 December 2024 20:00 Updated: 22:12

Red Bull star Liam Lawson has revealed a prank that he and a team-mate played to take advantage of the feud between Max Verstappen and George Russell.

The pair's big flashpoint came late this season at the Qatar Grand Prix, with an ultimately meaningless moment in qualifying saw Verstappen hit with a one-place grid penalty.

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The incident was noted by Russell, who approached the slowly moving Verstappen at full speed and allegedly campaigned for the penalty.

As a result, Verstappen took to the press to slam Russell for being ‘two-faced’ in an astonishing post-race rant concerning his Mercedes rival.

Max Verstappen was eventually victorious in Qatar

Max Verstappen and George Russell have been involved in a fiery exchange

Lawson reveals new details in Russell and Verstappen's F1 feud

"It's crazy how many messages I've had about this, people are really curious. I'll tell you, then we can decide [what] to put in [the podcast], because this is f*****g funny," Lawson said.

The F1 grid got together for an end of season dinner in Abu Dhabi

“So we rock up, we're at this big table, me and Yuki [Tsunoda] got there together. But as the table was filling up, that side of the table was pretty much all full. Opposite me was Max, and then there was, like, three chairs to the left at this end of the table, and George hadn't arrived yet. So we were like, 'This is perfect, we're just going to save that spot right next to Max for him.'

“Then George arrived, and we were all like, 'Hey!' and greeted him. Then Max said, 'Mate, we've saved a seat for you.' And George just picks up the chair and walks to the other side of the table with Lewis at the other end of the table. We were all like, 'Oh my god.' We thought this was going to be funny, but it wasn't funny. Well, kind of funny for us."

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes George Russell Liam Lawson Qatar Grand Prix