Verstappen made the insult directly after the sprint race in Azerbaijan back in April, confronting the Mercedes star in the paddock after the pair had collided on track, an incident that left a hole in the sidepod of the Dutchman’s Red Bull.
Russell told Verstappen: ‘He had no grip,’ before his rival retorted: ‘Mate, we all have no grip. We all need to give a little bit of space.’
Russell then walked away before Verstappen shouted: ‘But expect it next time the same, you know. D***head.’
Both drivers attempted to diffuse the matter soon after, though the Brit did also claim his rival ‘spat his dummy out’.
Speaking about the incident five months later, and his relationship with his fellow drivers, Russell, jokingly said on the Beyond the Grid podcast: ‘I think it began with a “D”, and I think it ended in a “D” as well!
‘Yeah, you know, it’s racing. We’re all in the heat of the moment. It’s a physical sport, even though it’s sometimes not perceived that way.
‘The cognitive stress, you’re under your own personal pressures and pressures from the outside, we all want to do the best job possible and we all respect that. So none of us are purposefully going out there to crash or purposely take somebody else off.
‘But it doesn’t matter what’s been said, I think in those moments within an hour after the race or during the race, if you’ve come together, and you’re on the sidelines together, it doesn’t matter what said, it’s sort of water under the bridge and you move on.
‘You know, you might not be best pals for the next couple of races, but we’re all mature enough to recognise it’s just racing.’
Russell did however admit he had a frosty relationship with Valtteri Bottas – the man he replaced at Mercedes – after the pair blamed each other for a huge crash at Imola in 2021.
‘I did give him a phone call, of which he didn’t answer,’ the 25-year-old added.
‘My message was just, “Give me a call when you have a moment”. But we’ve never spoken about that crash, ever. We’ve never spoken about me joining Mercedes. We’ve never spoken about any of that.
‘We often have normal chats with not a single ounce of awkwardness. It’s just part of the business, part of the job and it’s never personal.’
Russell is eighth in the standings, with just one podium to his name so far this year, as the F1 season continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix.
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