Max Verstappen and George Russell — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

F1 expert reveals George Russell set up Max Verstappen 'bully' rant

George Russell and Max Verstappen's war of words continues

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 16 October 2025 03:06

An F1 expert has confirmed that George Russell's Max Verstappen 'bully' rant at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was pre-planned.

Russell came out in Abu Dhabi and issued a scathing assessment of Verstappen, after the four-time world champion had previously accused Russell at the Qatar GP a week earlier of getting him a penalty in qualifying.

In return, Russell suggested his Dutch counterpart was a 'bully', and alleged that he had threatened to crash into Russell in Qatar, something that Verstappen denied saying.

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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'.

"'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.

Max Verstappen Mercedes George Russell Ted Kravitz