Max Verstappen ‘spat his dummy out’ as George Russell opens up on ‘pathetic’ row

The two drivers clashed after the sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

George Russell has claimed Max Verstappen “spat his dummy out” after the pair’s “pathetic” argument at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The two drivers clashed after colliding on the track during the sprint race in Baku.

In a heated interaction off the track after Russell had into his Red Bull in the opening corners, Verstappen appeared to call Russell a “d*******” as the two argued.

Russell has now admitted to being surprised at Verstappen’s reaction, suggesting that the Dutchman’s response was “a little bit poor”.

“It was all a little bit pathetic,” the Mercedes driver told Sky Sports. “I think something you learn as a kid is 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 and 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.

“From my side there was nothing really to say. I thought it was good racing, exciting racing and that’s the only thing that happened that weekend.

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

Verstappen came home second on race day in Baku, with Sergio Perez closing the gap to his teammate at the top of the world title standings with victory.

The Mexican is now just six points back from the defending champion ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.

Russell, meanwhile, finished eighth and will hope for a better performance in Florida after impressing at the inaugural visit to the Miami Gardens circuit next year.

The British driver has insisted he will not change his approach despite his incident with Verstappen.

“I continue racing the same way I always would,” Russell explained. “A lot has been said about that coming together, but from my side it was pretty straightforward - I went for a move, I got the move done, and moved on.

“Obviously, he was pretty upset about it, but that’s racing, these things happen. We’re all here to fight. That’s what F1 is about.

“From my side, there’s no air to be cleared. I will welcome and say hello to him if he passes by. I’m sure we’ll shake hands if we bump into each other.

“For me, it’s history now and it’s behind us. My view of him is still the same, I still respect him, I still think he’s a great driver.

“Obviously, things are always said in the heat of the moment. But we move on.”