George Russell rejects Max Verstappen criticism: ‘I’m not going to hold back’

Verstappen angrily confronted Russell after the sprint race in Baku following contact between the pair

George Russell has refused to back down after Max Verstappen was angry with the Mercedes driver following a collision in Saturday’s sprint race in Azerbaijan.

Russell overtook Verstappen to take third place on lap one of the 100km dash around the streets of Baku, but contact between the pair caused significant damage to the sidepod of Verstappen’s Red Bull, impacting his performance for the rest of the race.

Double world champion Verstappen confronted Russell immediately after the race - calling him a “d*******” - but the Brit believes he was fully entitled to make the move despite the Dutchman’s protestations.

“I was down the inside and as a driver you know the risks when you’re on the outside,” Russell told Sky F1.

“I’m here to fight, I’m here to win. I’m not going to hold back because he’s leading the championship.

“I was quite surprised he was trying to hold it around the outside, it’s a street circuit. He’s got a lot more to lose than I have. None of the contact was intentional, I was doing my best to have a clean fight.”

Verstappen did, comfortably, overtake Russell later in the race to finish third - with the Mercedes driver a spot further down in fourth.

(Getty Images)

“I was surprised that he was so angry, to be honest,” Russell added. “He still finished the race in P3, it’s a difficult situation.

“He’s got enough experience to know that if you’re trying to overtake on the outside, there’s a risk that the guy on the inside is going to run-wide into you.

“I don’t think anything would have been any different if the positions were reversed. We’ll live to tell the tale.”

Verstappen also failed to win the main grand prix on Sunday, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez claiming the victory to cut the Dutchman’s world championship lead to six points.

Russell, who only qualified 11th for the grand prix, finished the race in eighth and claimed an extra point for setting the fastest lap.