Russell: Verstappen was ‘pathetic’ in Baku

George Russell has labelled Max Verstappen pathetic for his behaviour after their collision during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Verstappen called Russell a “d—head” after the Mercedes driver forced him wide during the Baku sprint race.

The reigning world champion later referred to Russell as “Princess George” in an interview with the Dutch media.

Russell likened Verstappen’s reaction to a baby spitting out a pacifier, pointing out that the Red Bull driver is known for similar aggressive moves.

“It was all a little bit pathetic,” Russell told Sky when asked about the reaction. “Something you learn as a kid is that if you’re going to give something, you’ve got to be willing to take it as well.

“He’s had his fair share of giving moves like that and being tough and hard at racing. It’s a little bit poor to see how he sort of spat his dummy out when it was the first time he probably got something back in the same regard.”

Russell does not expect the incident to become a lingering issue.

“From my side there was nothing really to say,” he said. “I thought it was good racing, exciting racing. That’s the only thing that happened that weekend, it was pretty boring otherwise!

“We’re both drivers, we’ve been in the sport a long time now and we have plenty of experience. We’ll have a chat and move on. And I guess we’ll laugh about it one day.”