George Russell Acts Cupid for Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen Amid Fiery Imola Fight

Enemies on track, friends off it. That’s what James Hunt and Niki Lauda’s rivalry was like. Niki Lauda described Hunt as his Best Enemy, as portrayed in the movie Rush. Unfortunately, the dynamic between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is nowhere near the same as that. There is a bitter-sour relationship between the duo, as was highlighted during the practice in Imola. But now George Russell has come out to act as cupid for the rivals. Let’s dive into it.

Lewis Hamiton and Max Verstappen’s relationship was salvageable before the last race of 2021. However, after the controversial final laps at Abu Dhabi 2021, it was beyond anyone’s control, even though it was not because of either of them that the controversial situation came up. And since then, the 7X champ has been nowhere near the pace of Verstappen and Red Bull, so we never really got the chance to see them fighting on track like they did a couple of years ago.

However, at the 2024 Imola GP, a fierce moment sparked between the duo as Lewis Hamilton did not give way to the Dutchman, who was on a quick lap. The Briton was on a cooldown lap and was not informed by his team of Verstappen’s presence behind him. This led to the Red Bull driver firing a rant on Hamilton on the radio which was followed by a feisty statement after the session, as Verstappen said, “It’s not the first time. You try to stay calm of course, but it happened again.”

Nonetheless, George Russell, speaking at a promotional event for Mercedes during the Imola GP planned a date for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as he said, “Just you [Lewis Hamilton] and Max [on a date]. No one else around. Just you. No music, no nothing. Just like having a conversation”, to which Hamilton gingerly replied, “Maybe”.

George Russell’s plan is a bit risky and we are not sure if Kelly Piquet is going to be okay with that idea. Nonetheless, we live with hope that Verstappen and Hamilton will settle their differences one day. Regardless, Hamilton was not the only problem encountered by Verstappen this weekend. Let’s have a look at his troublesome practice session.

Helmut Marko on Max Verstappen and Red Bulls Imola GP practice struggles

Max Verstappen had terrible practice sessions at the Imola GP where he complained about the lack of grip from the rear of the car and had many moments where the car just twitched and got away from him. This was accompanied by multiple excursions across the gravel traps. Helmut Marko then came out to explain the struggle and where things might’ve gone wrong for Red Bull.

After Friday’s sessions, Helmut Marko said, “Both drivers have about the same problems, but fighting with the rear we have had more often. What worries me more is that Verstappen has problems with it, that means he can’t get control of it. And if Verstappen can’t do that, then something is well wrong. It could be that the problem has to do with the upgrades and that the individual components don’t really harmonize. Relatively speaking, we were further away in FP2 than in FP1. That means the changes were a step in the wrong direction.”

Do you think Max Verstappen will be able to take pole this weekend at the Emilia Romagna GP?