Back in Qatar, Max Verstappen and George Russell began an unexpected feud. The origins can be traced back to the qualifying session during that race weekend. During the Q3 segment, Russell almost speared into the back of a slow-moving Verstappen, and he was fuming. Verstappen was slapped with a one-place grid drop because both drivers were not on timed laps.

From there, the situation escalated to a war of words between the Red Bull star and the Mercedes driver. Russell said, “People have been bullied by Max for years now… You fight hard, but it’s never personal. But you know, he’s taking it too far now.” Meanwhile, Verstappen maintained a stoic demeanor. “I meant everything I said and it’s still the same. If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race result.”

At some point, many of the drivers had had enough and wanted them to end the feud. So when the annual end-of-season driver dinner kicked off, they hatched a cunning plan. Red Bull’s latest recruit for the 2025 season, Liam Lawson, opened up on the dinner table drama.

The attempt to make Max Verstappen and George Russell reconcile failed

In a recent podcast episode, newly promoted Red Bull driver Liam Lawson did a tell-all about what transpired. Of course, he acknowledged that the driver dinner was a burning topic and everyone wanted to know about it. Most of the F1 drivers got a good kick out of it, though Russell didn’t exactly share their sense of humor.

Lawson told the Pitstop podcast, “It’s crazy how many messages I’ve had about this. People are really curious. I don’t know if I can… Okay, I’ll tell you then. I’ll tell you and we can decide to put it in, because it is f–king funny. It’s really funny. So we rock up, we’re at this big table. Me and Yuki got there together. As the table was filling up, that side of the table was pretty much all full. Opposite me was Max, and there was like three chairs to the left, at the end of the table.” 

As all the drivers waited with bated breath for Russell to arrive, Lawson outlined their hilarious plan.“George hadn’t turned up at this point. We were like, ‘This is perfect’. Everybody that was coming before them were like ‘Fill the left side of the table.’ We were going to save this spot for George, right next to Max.” From Lawson’s testimony, all the drivers were in on it and saw it as a nice prank. However, Russell did not feel the same way.

“Then George arrives, we were all like, ‘Ayyy!’ Then Max is like, ‘Mate! We’ve save a seat for you.’ George just picks up the chair and walks to the other end of the table and sits on the other side of the table, with Lewis. We thought it would be funny. It wasn’t funny, it was funny for us.” Judging from Verstappen’s actions during the dinner, it seemed like he was willing to let bygones be bygones. However, it appeared that even a week after the incident, Russell was holding a bit of a grudge. It was a little surprising that this feud unexpectedly kicked up because the championship was already over.

Liam Lawson is looking forward to the 2025 F1 season

The New Zealand driver was drafted in towards the end of the season to replace an underperforming Daniel Ricciardo. He did a good enough job that not only did he get to stick around for 2025 but also earned a promotion. To be precise, he earned the second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen. It was a close call between himself and 2024 teammate Yuki Tsunoda, but eventually, Horner went for the Kiwi.

Gleaming at the opportunity to race for a powerhouse like Re Bull, Lawson recalled the moment he got the confirmation. “Christian [Horner] called me and gave me the classic one-liner: ‘Welcome to Red Bull Racing.’ I couldn’t stop – my face hurt from smiling so much!” However, this also meant that Sergio Perez has been left out in the wilderness, after a nightmare 2024 campaign.

The Perez exit was a long time coming because he had been underperforming for a while. To the point that there was a 285-point gap between himself and Max Verstappen, which ultimately cost Red Bull the constructor’s championship. To make matters worse, the Mexican driver ended the season 8th in the standings, while Verstappen won his fourth consecutive title.

Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar will be promoted from F2 to Formula One and take Lawson’s vacated berth. He partners with Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese star was disappointed to miss out, but he could be waiting in the wings if Lawson does not perform up to standard next season. What are your expectations from Liam Lawson in 2025?