By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) – George Russell has not spoken to Formula One champion Max Verstappen since their end-of-season bust-up in Abu Dhabi last December and the Mercedes driver said on Tuesday he was not about to change his approach either.
Russell and Red Bull’s four-times champion traded accusations last year, with Verstappen saying he had lost respect for the Briton — who accused him of threatening behaviour and bullying.
“I haven’t spoken (with him),” Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, told reporters at a 10-team season launch in London when asked whether there had been any reconciliation.
“No concerns about him or his driving or anything.
“That happened last year, and I want to focus on myself,” added the Briton, who has a new teammate in Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli after the departure to Ferrari of seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
“Obviously, things I felt got out of line at the end of last year and I made it pretty clear that I’m not going to take it. But now, you know, it’s 2025 and I want to focus on the job and the job is to win.
“So, you know, I’m not going to change my approach fighting him, fighting any other drivers. The goal is the same and I guess we’ll see when we get going.”
Russell, a double race winner last year when Mercedes finished fourth overall, is in his fourth year at Mercedes and will be the effective team leader alongside Antonelli.
Verstappen won his fourth successive title in 2024 but McLaren’s Lando Norris is already the bookmaker’s favourite after last year’s battle.
The season starts in Australia on March 16.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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