George Russell makes cold promise to Max Verstappen after Azerbaijan GP scrap

04 May 2023 , 21:40

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Max Verstappen confronted George Russell after a collision in Baku (Image: Formula 1 via Getty Images)

George Russell vowed not to change a thing about the way he drives despite incurring the wrath of Max Verstappen at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Perhaps the most entertaining moment of the whole Baku race weekend occurred after the Saturday Sprint. On the first lap, Russell had pulled off an aggressive overtake on Verstappen, but not without making contact with the Red Bull and leaving him raging over the radio.

That venting was not enough for Verstappen calm down fully, as he waited in parc ferme after the session to confront his Mercedes rival. And, despite the presence of the TV cameras, he told Russell what he thought of his driving and signed off by calling the Brit a "d***head".

Speaking the following day, Verstappen said it was "not necessary" to clear the air with the Mercedes man. But when asked about it ahead of this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Russell declared he won't be changing a thing about the way he operates behind the wheel.

He told reporters: "I will continue racing the same way as I always would. A lot has been said about that coming together but, from my side, it was pretty straightforward. I went for a move, got the move done and moved on. Obviously he was pretty upset about it but that's racing and these things happen. We're all here to fight."

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Meanwhile, Verstappen insisted there was no bad blood between the two of them as he clarified his relationship with the man he called "Princess George" a few days ago. "Maybe that's what people would like to hear but, no, it's absolutely fine," said the Dutchman.

George Russell declared he won't be changing his racing style (Getty Images)

There was no repeat of the clash in the main Baku race, with Russell starting much further back on the grid after a disappointing qualifying. And, given Mercedes don't have the pace to match Red Bull right now, there might not be many more opportunities for the Brit to go toe-to-toe with Verstappen.

In order to get into that position, the 25-year-old called upon his team to "continue to do a better job" in the hunt for improvement. He added: "It's fine margins. We missed out on Q3 by four milliseconds and that would have been a totally different story.

"Had we got into Q3, we probably could have qualified inside the top six but, clearly, our car isn't quick enough. We need to continue to do a better job and we'll go again this weekend. Hopefully, it'll be a slightly smoother weekend and we can battle it out with Aston and Ferrari."

Daniel Moxon