Inside Formula One’s VERY awkward end of season dinner: Max Verstappen and George Russell pictured together for the first time since ‘bullying’ row… as Lando Norris lifts lid on frosty meal in Abu Dhabi

Max Verstappen and George Russell sat ‘as far apart as possible’ at the F1 driver’s end-of-year dinner, amid the ongoing feud between the two.

Now that the race for the Drivers’ Championship took place in Las Vegas last month, all attention is focused on the war of words between Verstappen and Russell, which threatens to spill over onto the track.

On Thursday, Russell branded the four-time world champion a ‘bully’ and claimed the Dutchman told him he would ‘put me on my f***ing head in the wall’ during a heated private exchange following a controversial decision. from the stewards last week.

Verstappen was furious at being demoted one place after taking pole position for driving ‘unnecessarily slow’ as they prepared for their final flying laps in qualifying in Qatar. He later called the Briton two-faced for the evidence he gave to the stewards.

But the two were forced close together during what was sure to be an awkward and tense end-of-season dinner ahead of the final race weekend of the calendar in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren star Lando Norris, who came closest to dethroning Verstappen this season, lifted the lid on the occasion with a post on social media on Thursday evening. In it, he revealed that the drivers at the center of the ‘plague storm’ gave each other a wide lead.

The occasion took place amid tensions between Max Verstappen (third from left) and George Russell (to the right of Lewis Hamilton making the peace sign)

On Thursday, Russell claimed that ‘bully’ Max Verstappen told him he would: ‘Put my fucking head in the wall.’

Norris wrote on Instagram: ‘dinner 2024! and yes, the two you were thinking of were as far apart as possible.” He followed the post with a crying laughing emoji and a laughing emoji.

Verstappen and Russell were all smiling on screen and were separated by five of their colleagues in the Blush restaurant. Another image from the dinner showed the couple on opposite sides of the large table.

The click was also notable for the placement of Lewis Hamilton, who was tucked away in the corner next to Charles Leclerc, who will be his teammate at Ferrari next season.

A few hours earlier, Russell, who finished fourth in Qatar despite being promoted to pole position, sensationally told reporters: “I find it all quite ironic considering he said on Saturday night that he would deliberately go out of his way to beat me to collide and, quote, “Put me on my damn head in the wall”.

“So to question someone’s integrity as a person when you’re making comments like that the day before, I find it very ironic.

“I’m not going to sit here and accept it. People have been bullied by Max for years and you can’t doubt his driving skills, but he can’t handle adversity. Whenever something goes against him, Jeddah ’21, Brazil ’21, he lashes out. This year in Budapest, the very first racing car was not dominant: it crashed into Lewis and crashed into his team.

“For me, those comments on Saturday evening and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary, because what happens on the track – we fight hard – it’s part of racing. You fight hard for what happens in the stewards’ room, but it is never personal.

“But now he’s going too far.”

Max Verstappen has not given up his criticism of Mercedes’ George Russell following a controversial incident involving the pair in Qatar

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lashed out at fellow team boss Christian Horner as he defended Russell

Asked if he planned to talk to Verstappen to clear the air, Russell said: “I have no interest in talking to him about it because I don’t have any interest in making it right, because I think his problem is dealing with it. and I won’t lose any sleep over it.’

Following Russell’s comments, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff poured petrol on the war of words between his manufacturer and rival Red Bull by describing Christian Horner as a ‘yapping little terrier’.

Wolff also joined the fray on Thursday afternoon, replacing Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner after accusing Russell in front of the stewards of ‘hysteria’ to influence last Saturday’s qualifying decision.

‘Why does he ultimately feel he has the right to comment on my driver? How come?’ Wolff told the Athletic. “But when I thought about it, I thought about it for 90 seconds… Yapping little terrier. Always something to say.’

‘There is something between the drivers, and this is George and Max, and I don’t want to get involved in that, but when the other team boss calls George hysterical, he crosses a line for me.

‘His strongest point is certainly not intellectual psychoanalysis, but that is quite a word. How dare you comment on my driver’s state of mind.’