Ted Kravitz, the Sky F1 presenter, has revealed how George Russell persuaded him to help the Mercedes driver \u201ccall out\u201d Max Verstappen at last year\u2019s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Russell and Verstappen were embroiled in an entertaining war of words in the closing weeks of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
Ted Kravitz sheds new light on Max Verstappen vs George Russell row<\/p>\n
The Red Bull driver took exception to what he perceived as Russell\u2019s exaggerated attempts to land him a grid penalty at the penultimate race in Qatar.<\/p>\n
Verstappen commented in Qatar that he had \u201clost all respect\u201d for Russell, claiming he had \u201cnever seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard\u201d in the stewards\u2019 room following an incident between the pair in qualifying.<\/p>\n
Russell responded angrily four days later, claiming ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi that Verstappen had warned he would \u201cput me on my f**king head in the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mercedes driver went on to claim that Verstappen had \u201cgone too far\u201d with a \u201cpersonal attack\u201d and criticised his \u201creckless\u201d approach to racing.<\/p>\n
Go deeper: George Russell vs Max Verstappen<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0What caused Max Verstappen and George Russell\u2019s explosive war of words?<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0F1 driver sackings: The most brutal firings and bitter disputes in F1 history<\/a><\/p>\n Kravitz was famously at the centre of a brief Red Bull boycott of Sky F1 in 2022 after commenting on air that Verstappen had \u201crobbed\u201d Lewis Hamilton of the 2021 title.<\/p>\n And writing in his new book, Notes from the Pit Lane, the Sky F1 presenter has revealed how Russell approached him ahead of a scheduled interview and requested that he pressed him on his row with Verstappen to give Russell the chance to address his rival\u2019s \u201cbullying tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n Kravitz said: \u201cA week after Qatar, when Russell arrived at the Abu Dhabi track, he was in no mood to let the Verstappen situation lie.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d spent the day interviewing drivers at the TV pen, but hadn\u2019t yet heard any earth-shattering stories.<\/p>\n \u201cA minute before his time slot, up strode George. He called me over to the edge of the pen [and said]: \u2018Make sure you ask me a follow-up question.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018What do you mean?\u2019 I asked.<\/p>\n \u201c[He replied]: \u2018I\u2019m going to give it back to Max. I\u2019ve had enough of him bad-mouthing me in the press and I\u2019m going to call him out on his bullying tactics.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you\u2019re only supposed to ask me one question, but never mind that, I\u2019m up for as many questions as you like.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBefore checking to see if he was wearing a Drive to Survive microphone, I asked him if he was absolutely sure he wanted to escalate what was effectively last year\u2019s story and start a new fight with Max \u2013 never an easy battle to win.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said he was positive, and away he went.\u201d<\/p>\n Russell found his Mercedes seat come under threat from Verstappen earlier this season, with the reigning four-time World Champion linked with a move away from Red Bull during the summer months.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com revealed on July 30<\/a> that Russell was nearing a new contract with Mercedes after Verstappen committed his future to Red Bull.<\/p>\n