Russell Sought To ‘Set The Record Straight’ Before Abu Dhabi Finale As Tension With Verstappen Boiled Over, Says Kravitz

George Russell attempted to take control of the narrative surrounding his simmering feud with Max Verstappen ahead of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, according to Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz, who says the Mercedes driver privately approached him in the media zone to ensure his version of events received proper airtime.

The revelation adds a fresh layer to a storyline that began more than a year earlier and erupted again at the season-ending race. What started as a brief flashpoint during qualifying for the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix has grown into one of the paddock’s most persistent interpersonal spats, pulling in team bosses, FIA stewards, and now members of the media.

The tension originated in Lusail, where Russell and Verstappen came close to colliding during their preparation laps in qualifying. Verstappen was investigated for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly, and both drivers were summoned to the stewards. Once the cameras caught Russell leaving the stewards’ room, the Mercedes driver branded Verstappen a “bully.” He also claimed the Red Bull driver had threatened to “put me on my f***ing head in the wall.”

Verstappen denied making such a threat, calling Russell’s recounting exaggerated and suggesting the Briton behaved differently when the broadcast spotlight wasn’t on him. The disagreement calmed only slightly as the season progressed, but the tension never entirely dissipated.

When the F1 circus returned to the Middle East for the 2024 finale in Abu Dhabi, the Qatar controversy returned to the forefront. This time, the friction escalated beyond the drivers themselves, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff taking public digs as they defended their respective men.

According to Kravitz, Russell arrived in the TV pen on the Thursday before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix determined to make sure his voice cut through the surrounding noise. In a move Kravitz described as an attempt to “break a written rule” governing the neutral dynamics between drivers and broadcasters, Russell reportedly asked the veteran journalist to emphasise his side of the story in the weekend’s pre-race interview.

While the details of the conversation were not broadcast, Kravitz suggested the request was unusual enough to raise eyebrows behind the scenes. Broadcasters are expected to maintain an objective stance, and drivers generally avoid trying to influence how their comments are framed. Russell’s initiative, then, was interpreted as a sign of how deeply the saga had affected him.

Mercedes, for their part, insisted the matter was one of simple miscommunication that had spiraled. But the growing involvement of the team principals hinted at strategic motivations as well as personal ones. Horner reminded reporters that Verstappen’s version of events had remained consistent, while Wolff defended Russell’s character and dismissed suggestions that he had inflated the story for attention.

The weekend on track provided its own twist. Russell outpaced Verstappen in the race, finishing less than a minute ahead of the reigning world champion. While the gap owed more to divergent strategies and Verstappen’s compromised setup than any pure pace deficit, the optics pleased Mercedes and gave Russell an extra note of satisfaction at the end of a tense fortnight.

Still, the underlying dispute showed no sign of being fully resolved. Verstappen maintained his view that Russell overstated the severity of their Qatar exchange, calling the Briton’s description “again exaggerated.” Russell stood firm that he had merely repeated what he heard in the heat of the moment.

Kravitz’s account now adds another dimension, suggesting Russell felt compelled to reassert his perspective after weeks of Verstappen-leaning commentary online. It remains unclear whether Russell’s request to Kravitz influenced any broadcast segments, but the gesture alone underscored how personal the conflict had become.

Even as the chequered flag fell on the 2024 season and teams turned their eyes to 2025, the dynamic between the pair appears unresolved. Neither driver has offered a public olive branch, and both maintain that it is the other who has misrepresented the confrontation.

In a sport where on-track rivalries are often mirrored by media-fuelled off-track narratives, the Russell-Verstappen friction now sits among the more intriguing interpersonal battles on the grid. With both drivers expected to remain at the sharp end next season, the paddock will be watching closely to see whether the tension cools or erupts again the next time the two find themselves side by side at 200 miles per hour.