Max Verstappen screams at Red Bull to ‘f***ing report’ George Russell

Max Verstappen reacted furiously on Saturday after being overtaken by George Russell on the opening lap of the sprint race in Azerbaijan. The Dutchman demanded his team to ‘report’ the Mercedes star, claiming that the pair made contact as they jostled for position.

With Verstappen qualifying third and Russell fourth in Saturday’s inaugural sprint shootout, the pair did not take long to go toe-to-toe once the sprint race got underway later in the day. The Mercedes star got a better start off the line, which produced a gripping battle through the first three corners in Baku.

Things came to a head going into Turn 3, when Russell held his nerve and the inside line to pass Verstappen, forcing the reigning double world champion to run perilously close to the wall and appearing to skim his front-left tyre on the way past.

Verstappen was told over the team radio to remember that others have more to lose than he does, but he still reacted angrily, screaming: “He tagged me, that’s how he got the position. F***ing report it.”

Russell got away without punishment from the FIA and remained in third place when the race restarted, following a period behind a Safety Car due to Yuki Tsunoda’s tyre coming lose. On the incident, Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok said: “They both had the right to racing room.

“It’s on the edge. I can see why Max is slightly annoyed but I think George will get away with that. We definitely saw debris fly off the car. It could have been the Mercedes wing or something from the Red Bull.”

Verstappen couldn’t resist but fire a sly dig at the Englishman, replying: “Yeah, I know how to do that.” The 25-year-old tried and failed to make up ground on Charles Leclerc over the remainder of the sprint race, finishing in third and confronting Russell after the chequered flag.

In his fiery post-race interview, Verstappen made it clear that he was still seething about the overtake, which left his Red Bull with significant sidepod damage.