ABU DHABI: Simmering bad blood between Formula One rivals Max Verstappen and George Russell exploded into angry accusations of bullying and lying ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday.
Verstappen said in Qatar last weekend that he had lost all respect for Russell after stewards stripped Red Bull's quadruple champion of pole position and promoted his Mercedes rival to the top slot.
In one of the sport's biggest driver bust-ups in years, likely to be lapped up by fans of the Netflix 'Drive to Survive' docu-series, the Dutch 27-year-old accused Russell, 26, of lying to secure an advantage.
Dutch reporters said Verstappen, who ultimately won Sunday's race with Russell fourth, also referred to the Briton as a 'loser'.
Russell responded in an extraordinary session with reporters inside the Mercedes hospitality at Yas Marina, with team boss Toto Wolff standing at his side and throwing his own barbs at Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
The angry Mercedes driver accused Verstappen of threatening behaviour, said he had crossed a line and it was time to stand up and set the record straight "about someone who thinks he's above the law."
"I've known Max for a long time and I know what he's capable of," said Russell. "He said to me he's going to purposely go out of his way to crash into me.
Russell said he had thought it was a heat of the moment thing but the next day felt Verstappen meant it when he saw "the fire in his eyes.
"Someone needs to stand up to a bully like this – and so far people are letting him get away with murder," he told Sky Sports television separately.
Russell said teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was denied an eighth world championship by Verstappen in a controversial 2021 finale in Abu Dhabi, was the kind of champion he aspired to be.
He suggested former FIA race director Michael Masi, who lost his job after changing the safety car procedure at the end of the 2021 race, would have feared for his life had Verstappen not won that day.
"I'm not questioning his driving abilities one single bit. But the second, he does not have the fastest car – let's take Budapest as an example. He crashes into Lewis, he slams his whole team and he loses the plot," he said.
Russell also said he "knew for a fact" that a quarter of Verstappen's engineering team had sent out their CVs to Mercedes-powered rivals.
Verstappen said Russell's behaviour in the stewards' room had shocked him.
"I just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly, and lying about why I was doing what I was doing," he said.
"It was just really not nice and actually really shocking what was going on there."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested after the race that Russell had been "hysterical" in the stewards' meeting – a comment that fired up Wolff, who had earlier this season been singing Verstappen's praises and trying to sign him.
"Why does he (Horner) feel entitled to comment about my driver?" he asked on Thursday. "I spent 90 seconds to think about it. Yapping little terrier. Always something to say."
Russell said Verstappen was angry before he'd even spoken to the stewards.
"At the end of the day, there's nothing to lie about. The facts were the facts. He was going too slow," he said.
"As drivers you fight hard on track. You fight hard in the stewards."
McLaren's Lando Norris, who is friendly with both Russell and Verstappen, said it all made good box office.
"Some fight harder for things, some fight less. But I enjoy watching them argue like they do," he said. - REUTERS