When Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell labelled Red Bull champion Max Verstappen “a bully” after the Qatar Grand Prix last year, it triggered a firestorm of dramatic headlines.
“F1 feud explodes.” “War of Words.” “Threats, Lies and Backstabbing.”
George Russell and Max Verstappen at the Qatar Grand Prix last year.Credit: Getty Images
With F1 cars reaching ear-splitting speeds well over 300km/h, and producing unpredictable manoeuvres and monstrous crashes, you’d be forgiven for thinking the most exciting thing about the sport was, well, the racing.
But with only 20 drivers on the grid, sometimes the most interesting element of the sport is the tensions within the paddock, the long-standing rivalries between legacy teams, and the cut-throat competitiveness between childhood friends turned teammates.
The Verstappen-Russell conflict has continued throughout the off-season and remains a talking point ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
But how does the pair’s spat compare with other famous rivalries across F1 history? And with the lingering presence of Netflix’s Drive to Survive crew around the paddock, how genuine are these so-called F1 rivalries, feuds and wars? Do they run deep or are they just for the cameras?
Why are Russell and Verstappen fighting?
Let’s hit pause and rewind back to the Qatar Grand Prix – the penultimate race of the 2024 season.
Verstappen – who secured his fourth consecutive championship in Las Vegas the previous week – was stripped of pole position after the Saturday qualifying session. The Red Bull driver was penalised one grid place for driving “unnecessarily slowly” in front of Russell during a slow lap.
The sanction meant Russell would start the grand prix from pole, prompting Verstappen to voice his frustrations and accuse the Briton in the stewards’ room of “trying hard to screw him over”.
“You know what it is,” Verstappen said after the race. “He [Russell] is always polite in front of the cameras, but in person he is completely different. I can’t stand that. Then it’s better to just f— off. I don’t want anything to do with him…
“It was honestly very disappointing, because I think all of us here, we respect each other a lot. I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and my career with people that I’ve raced. And I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect [for him].”
Still with us? OK, let’s move to what Russell said.
A fuming Russell hit back at Verstappen during media day in Abu Dhabi, describing the Red Bull star as a “bully” who thinks he is “above the law” and alleged that Verstappen threatened to put his “f—ing head in the wall” in Qatar.
“I find it all quite ironic, considering Saturday night he said he’s going to purposely go out of his way to crash into me and, quote, ‘put me on my f—ing head in the wall’,” Russell said when asked about Verstappen’s comments.
Russell, Verstappen and Lando Norris before qualifying in Qatar.Credit: Getty Images
The Mercedes driver added he could “see in [Verstappen’s] eyes” during a heated exchange in the drivers’ parade the next day that he “meant it”.
“To question somebody’s integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before – I find it very ironic, and I’m not going to sit here and accept it,” Russell said.
“People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you can’t question his driving abilities. But he cannot deal with adversity whenever anything has gone against him.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen doubled down on his criticism in Abu Dhabi, calling Russell a “liar” and a “loser”.
But Russell wasn’t finished either. He criticised Verstappen for deploying controversial tactics when battling other drivers, citing infamous clashes with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 and Lando Norris in 2024.
“I admire his on-track battles, and when he is hard and aggressive,” Russell said. “But what we saw at the end of the season in ’21, or what we saw in Mexico with Lando, they weren’t hard, aggressive manoeuvres. They were do or die: ‘I’m willing to take this guy out.’ Which I don’t think is the way we should go racing.”
Tensions didn’t seem to cool off over the off-season, either, with Russell admitting there was “no love lost” between the pair in an interview with BBC Sport this month.
How did Drive to Survive depict the feud?
Critics of Netflix’s hit series argue it has sensationalised the sport and prioritised drama over accuracy – and they’re not entirely wrong. The docuseries has encountered backlash for using misplaced commentary and spliced audio from team radios for certain events, and misrepresenting or exaggerating tensions within the paddock.
With all that in mind, viewers understandably expected Verstappen and Russell’s fiery exchange to take centre stage.
But, remarkably, the conflict between the pair was omitted from season seven of the series. Other notable news stories were also excluded, including legendary Red Bull designer Adrian Newey defecting to Aston Martin, rookie Ollie Bearman debuting for Ferrari, and Franco Colapinto replacing Logan Sargeant.
Instead, Netflix devoted episodes to Hamilton’s historic move to Ferrari and the growing rivalry between (you guessed it) Verstappen and McLaren driver Norris.
How does the Russell v Verstappen feud compare with other F1 rivalries?
Despite trading vitriolic barbs and alleged threats of violence, Russell and Verstappen have not had many notable on-track racing incidents. Tensions could possibly be traced back to a minor collision in 2023, when Verstappen labelled Russell a “dickhead” after the Briton damaged his side pod.
Max Verstappen and George Russell exchange words in parc ferme in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
Russell began his F1 career with midfield team Williams before moving to an underperforming Mercedes seat in 2022. By contrast, Verstappen has sat at the top of the grid and regularly fought for wins in his dominant Red Bull. Their lack of contact pales in comparison with other fierce F1 rivals, who fought wheel-to-wheel for championship crowns.
French driver Alain Prost and Brazilian icon Ayrton Senna are widely regarded as having the fiercest rivalry in F1 – an intensely competitive relationship that lasted nearly a decade and peaked during their two-year period as teammates.
Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet sparred in the late ’80s, while Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill famously fought for the title in the last race of the season at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.
The pair raced closely for 35 laps until Schumacher controversially turned in and collided with Hill. The impact knocked Schumacher out of the race and forced Hill to retire after damage to his Williams. Since neither driver scored, Schumacher took his maiden championship by one point.
Seven-time champion Hamilton has had several notable rivalries including with Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, and former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
Verstappen and Russell may not have shared championship battles, but with Red Bull admitting their car is “not the quickest” in 2025, Verstappen and Russell may see more of each other very soon.
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