LONDON — Max Verstappen claims he has “no intention to continue any kind of beef” with George Russell after their public spat at the end of the last Formula One season.
Four-time F1 world champion Verstappen and Mercedes driver Russell had a heated exchanged at last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, when Verstappen felt Russell tried to “screw” him in front of the stewards to get him a grid penalty, costing him pole position.
Russell later claimed that Verstappen had threatened to crash into him deliberately in the race and that drivers had “been bullied by Max for years now.”
In an interview with the BBC ahead of F1’s season launch event at The O2 on Tuesday night, Russell said he had “no intentions” to speak with Verstappen to clear any lingering tension between them.
He added in a news conference that he had “no concerns about (Verstappen) or his driving or anything. That happened last year. And I want to focus on myself.”
Asked how he felt about Russell’s comments, Verstappen replied: “Honestly, I have no intention to continue any kind of beef in February.
“Like, I’m still enjoying my time actually away from Formula One, and just getting ready for the season. I have honestly nothing to say about that subject.”
Verstappen was previously involved in a heated rivalry with Russell’s former Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who has joined Ferrari for the 2025 season.
McLaren’s Lando Norris went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen on multiple occasions last season, and also called out some of his on-track behavior for going too far.
Last week, Norris said that he knew he had to get his “elbows out” to race against Verstappen, but that he believed by racing “smart” he would be able to beat the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen took the win in Qatar last year after overtaking Russell at the race start (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Verstappen was not drawn on the suggestion he might be in his rivals’ heads, saying: “I prefer to just focus on myself. That’s the only thing I can control, that’s what I’ll always do.
“When I’m away, I don’t really think about my rivals or whatever. I just live my life. That’s the only thing I can say really.”
He added that he did not care if they thought about him a lot: “I just focus on my own life and performances.”
Russell explained in his news conference that he felt Verstappen “got out of line at the end of last year, and made it pretty clear that I’m not going to take it.
GO DEEPER
Verstappen threatened to ‘put me in the wall’ after stewards’ meeting, Russell claims
“Now, it’s 2025, and I’m focused on the job and the job is to win,” he said. I’m not going to change my approach fighting him, fighting any other drivers. The goal is the same.
“I guess we’ll see where we get in Melbourne.”
No need to take swearing issue ‘so serious’, says Verstappen
Speaking ahead of the unveiling of the livery for his new car on Tuesday evening, Verstappen also talked about the FIA’s new guidelines issued on misconduct for 2025, which have placed a focus on swearing.
Last year, Verstappen was required to complete community service for F1’s governing body in Rwanda as punishment for swearing in a news conference. He called the sanction “ridiculous.”
The new guidelines threaten drivers with punishments including fines starting at €40,000, points deductions or even race bans for misconduct, putting swearing in the spotlight ahead of this season.
After initially saying in the wider news conference that he preferred not to speak about the issue, Verstappen expanded on the matter in a subsequent media roundtable.
“Of course I understand that you cannot always swear everywhere you go, right? I think we all understand that as racing drivers,” Verstappen said.
“But sometimes, in the heat of the moment, or when you get interviewed in your car or whatever, you just had an adrenaline rush or whatever, sometimes things slip out a little bit.”
He added: “I think we shouldn’t take it so serious, you know? Plus, I’m also not going to tell you have you should behave in life, I guess. That’s pretty much all I can say about it. But we have to deal with it at the moment, it has been written.”
Asked if he would prefer the FIA to focus on more important issues, Verstappen replied: “I think so. I guess everyone has that feeling.”
Required reading
(Top photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
