George Russell backed for 'standing up' to Max Verstappen in F1 'war of words'

George Russell has received emphatic backing for "standing up" to Max Verstappen after their "war of words."

Towards the end of the 2024 season, the two engaged in a bitter row after an incident in Qatar GP qualifying where Verstappen was stripped of pole for blocking Russell, who the four-time F1 champion claimed had tried to engineer a penalty so the Mercedes could inherit pole himself.

The week after, in Abu Dhabi, Russell labelled Verstappen as a "bully" who had threatened to deliberately crash into him in Qatar, with bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner also getting involved. 

Tensions cooled thereafter, although the two clashed in Spain earlier this year, when Verstappen felt aggrieved at being forced wide on a safety car restart. He appeared to deliberately hit the Mercedes, earning him three penalty points, and moving him just one away from a race ban at the time, although two have since been removed.

This has come against the backdrop of Mercedes chasing Verstappen's signature, with Russell widely expected to be the driver to leave the team if a stunning deal was agreed.

Although Verstappen has since confirmed he will be staying with Red Bull for 2026, Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli have not yet officially been announced for next season, despite Wolff saying it is a matter of time. 

Considering this, former F1 driver Perry McCarthy believes Russell is not "bigged up" for his performances, with seven podiums this season, as he praised the Briton for "standing up" to Verstappen. 

"He's been doing a great job, but it is kind of funny image-wise that you don't hear people talking about George and bigging him up all the time, no matter what he does," said McCarthy, in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.

"Last year, he clearly outperformed Lewis [Hamilton], and this year, he's been faced with the complete future of Mercedes, and the kid kicked off well, but has struggled recently, and George has been leading the team.

"On top of that, the contract delay does play on your mind, because it is not a question of 'Where am I going to earn my money next month?', but it is a question of a confidence issue, 'Is this team completely behind me, and totally committed to me?' 

"I know the difference from being a number two to a number one and having people around you think you can walk on water, and what that does to your performance, and your outlook, and that's where George has been particularly mentally strong.

"He's also shown that in his dealings with Max, because he has had no problems about standing up to him and having this kind of mental battle with him, and just going, 'I know who I am, I know what I can do.'

"That is a real display of confidence, and even though there's been a war of words, it does show a confidence in a leadership position, so for that reason, I do feel George gets slightly overlooked from what his performances deserve.

"All the performances he has given and the application and commitment he's been showing have been set against this backdrop of uncertainty, and I'll guarantee you something that every racing driver that ever was or is out there, no matter how mega they are, they still need that comfort to think people believe in them."