Verstappen avoids talks with Russell after branding star ‘d***head’

F1 preview: A lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Max Verstappen has avoided private talks with George Russell after the pair’s feud at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race. Verstappen approached Russell in the pitlane and branded the Mercedes star a “d***head” after the duo clashed on track.

Russell apologised for the contact which left a hole in the Red Bull’s sidepod and denied Verstappena a chance to battle with the leaders. However, the Dutchman refused to accept the apology and even laughed at Russell’s excuse that a lack of group led to the accident.

But, on Sunday the reigning champion stressed he had not held further talks with Russell ahead of the race. He said: “It’s not necessary, I mean we just have to focus on what we can do today and try to score as many points as possible.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claimed the damage to Verstappen’s car could have cost him around three-quarters of a second. The clash certainly affected the 25-year-old who struggled to get past Charles Leclerc and could not match the pace of his team-mate Sergio Perez.

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When pushed on whether the damage could present a further problem in the Grand Prix, Verstappen confirmed the issue had been fixed by his engineers. He added: “We are allowed to repair these things so today we can have a strong race.”

Russell hit Verstappen on the opening lap of the shorter sprint race after the former Williams star stuck his nose down the inside at turn two. Verstappen was left furious by the move and called on FIA race officials to penalise his rival.

The Red Bull driver even demanded engineers “f***ing report” Russell in a heated team radio meltdown. After the race, the British star was left baffled at Verstappen’s angst and admitted he was “surprised” at his reaction.

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He told Sky Sports F1: “When he came over to me, I thought he was coming to say ‘good battle’ – a nice fight. I was very surprised how angry he was.

“From my side, his position was already lost. Ever since eight years old in go-karting, if you’re on the inside of the apex of a corner, it’s your corner. And if a driver’s trying to resist a position on the outside, they’re taking a huge risk. On one lap, on a street circuit, I was really quite shocked he was trying to hold the position.”

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