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1 Month After Max Verstappen’s “D**khead” Jibe, George Russell Puts Differences Behind to Praise the Dutchman

Published 06/29/2023, 2:05 PM EDT

Max Verstappen has been a polarizing figure in this sport ever since he made his debut. But what really cancels out all of his aggression is the fact that he is one of the best drivers this sport has seen in a long, long time. The Red Bull maestro has time and again gotten in the bad books of fans, the media, and even other drivers. Be that as it may, when push comes to shove, even his greatest rivals have bowed down to his superiority. George Russell is a prime example.

Just a month ago, the two went wheel-to-wheel during the Baku Sprint race. On the very first lap, Russell got his elbows out and the RB19 of Verstappen connected squarely with the Mercedes W14 of Russell. While neither of them sustained any race-ending damage, Verstappen wasn’t pleased with Russell’s all-or-nothing approach. This gave birth to the infamous “d**khead” comment the Dutch lion passed the Brit’s way post-race.

George Russell admits Verstappen’s superiority

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When it comes to being an F1 driver, Russell isn’t a slouch. However, even he knows, that currently, there’s no beating, or even matching, Max Verstappen! That’s exactly why when asked about his pick for the top three F1 drivers in 2023, he swallowed his pride to give a fitting response.

🗣️ | Russell's reply when asked about the top 3 drivers of the season:
"Max is the one doing the solid job week in, week out. He’s the number one at the moment. Number two and number there, no-one else cares about."
[@SkySportsF1] pic.twitter.com/Hw7NsbfAzw
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 29, 2023

Sky Sports quoted the 25-year-old lad from King’s Lynn as saying, “Max is the one doing the solid job week in, week out. He’s the number one at the moment. Number two and number there, no-one else cares about.”

“Life Is Not Fair”: Max Verstappen Slaps Lewis Hamilton With a Brutal Reality Check as Red Bull’s Superior Advantage Irks the 7X Champ

But don’t expect the Brit to concede completely to the 2x champion.

Russell questions Max Verstappen’s credibility

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F1 drivers are super competitive. That’s why, even though Russell admitted to Verstappen’s current stranglehold on the sport, he did so with a pinch of salt. Well, he did it masked behind a sly jab, and a probable warning.

Russell continued, “As drivers, we want to be in a position where we can go head to toe, week in, week out, with everyone on a level playing field. In an ideal world, all of the cars are the same. And then we truly know.”

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Can George Russell ever eclipse Max Verstappen if given a fighting chance?

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Written by:

Anirban Aly Mandal is a senior F1 writer at EssentiallySports, with over 500 articles published on the platform. Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 while playing on his computer, and he has since then dived deep into the world of motorsports. Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports.

Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar

1 Month After Max Verstappen’s “D**khead” Jibe, George Russell Puts Differences Behind to Praise the Dutchman

George Russell admits Verstappen’s superiority

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Russell questions Max Verstappen’s credibility