The first sprint weekend of the season, and that too with a new format, held up its hype. A fairly normal sprint race otherwise became heated solely because of the drama that started to unfold right from turn 1 between Max Verstappen and George Russell. Known for his aggression, Max faced extreme pressure from the Mercedes driver and was pushed into the wall. For the second race in a row, Russell stuck his elbows out.

Max, who wasn’t visibly happy, ensured that everyone knew what he faced. The driver’s RB19 suffered sidepod damage from George Russell’s W14 exiting from turn 1. A gaping hole was left on the sidepod of the Dutchman’s drive, which explained his relative silence and an unsuccessful chase of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Settling in with P3, Max wasn’t left happy and criticized Russell from the get-go.

The Red Bull driver was quick to reprimand the British driver, but they couldn’t sort things out. Following an unsuccessful chat with Russell, who finished P4 behind Max on the track known for crashes due to its narrow streets, Max had a few words for his rival.

Speaking afterward, he was quoted by Autosport as saying, “I don’t understand why you need to take so much risk on lap one, understeer into my sidepod, create a hole. We all have cold tyres and it is easy to lock-up. His [Russell] beautiful way of explaining it… it doesn’t make sense.”

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Max’s comments attracted scrutiny from the fans, as his aggressive style was called out. The comments from the Dutch driver were also termed as very harsh, as racing incidents such as these are common.

Max Verstappen takes it too far with words?

It’s natural in the sport for drivers to call out each other for their errors. But even with the extreme levels of adrenaline flowing through, the remarks are made within the boundaries of the spirit of the sport. We have seen it happen with several drivers where anger got the better of them, but apologies followed through.

After the sprint in Baku, following his chat with Russell, Max wasn’t impressed. The Briton came up to clarify his view of the incident that damaged the reigning champion’s car. But after the unsatisfying exchange, Max was reportedly heard saying “d**khead” as Russell walked away.

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For fans, the comment was tasteless, as racing incidents are fairly common. Moreover, the reaction from Max was called unjustified, as he didn’t really do a lot of damage. What do you make of the situation? Did Max take it too far? Let us know in the comments below.