Max Verstappen has taken a swipe at George Russell – labelling the Mercedes star ‘Princess George’ – as tensions between the pair threaten to reach boiling point. The bad blood was ignited on Saturday in Baku when the duo touched during the opening lap of Azerbaijan GP Sprint causing damage to Verstappen’s car.
The incident left the Dutchman furious before the pair came to blows during a fiery verbal exchange in the parc ferme.
Russell defended his part in the collision and stated his cold tyres were partially to blame.
Verstappen wasn’t interested however and he took offence to the comments before calling the Brit a “d*******”.
Both drivers relayed their version of events and Verstappen was keen to justify his fury by continually questioning Russell’s decision-making.
It had even been claimed by Russell that he was left surprised by how defensive Verstappen had been during the sprint but the Dutchman wasn’t prepared to back down.
He later snapped in response to Russell’s claims: “It’s not allowed because Princess George is there? That’s ultimately his problem!”
The comment is likely to cause further drama this weekend when the pair will return to the track on Sunday for the race at 12pm at the Baku City Circuit.
Verstappen remains infuriated by Russell’s attempts to excuse the collision by blaming his cold tyres.
The two-time world champion continued: “At that moment, of course, I thought so [that he was a d**khead].
“If you now say ‘the hole (damage) was not my intention’ – that says something.”
Russell told Verstappen to watch back the footage before making any further judgments.
It was not met with the best of responses by his counterpart, who fired back: “But his reaction… ‘look at the onboards’ and ‘cold tyres’? Yes, we all have cold tyres. It’s just a bit churlish.”
Speaking to Sky Sports after the fracas, Verstappen declared he maintains respect for all of the drivers on the grid despite continuing to dig at his rival.
“I respect all the drivers a lot. It’s a bit of common sense what you do on the first lap.
“You just have to picture yourself. They are off the pace and to risk that much on lap one, I think it’s not very rewarding anyway because I would get him anyway within a few laps.
“There is potential to damage your car as well, not only my car. Of course, I had a hole in my sidepod, but he could also get a puncture and then his race is over as well.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.