Max Verstappen Lashes Out At George Russell After Contact
Max Verstappen has hit out at George Russell over his Red Bull team radio after contact from the British driver in the opening lap of the Azerbaijan sprint race.
Russell made slight contact with the two-time champion before performing an overtake during the very early stages of the race. Red Bull informed Verstappen that it had caused some damage to his floor.
The Dutch driver complained to his team that Russell should not be allowed to keep his position, saying:
"Did he [Russell] really drive into the side of me?
"I don't get how he can damage my car and keep the position.
"I find it ridiculous".
Verstappen later took the place back and the Austrian team did not miss the opportunity to make a sly jab at Russell. The team congratulated Verstappen on the clean overtake, saying:
"Nicely Done Max and without contact."
To which Verstappen responded, again hitting out at the British driver:
"Yeah I know how to do that."
The Dutch driver has now built a gap between him and Russell as he currently sits in third place behind Charles Leclerc in second and Sergio Perez in first, with roughly three laps to go.
The race stewards have not released any notes at the moment to say Russell will be investigated for the overtake, so it is assumed it was deemed as a racing incident.