How Russell and Wolff counterattacked after Verstappen's comments

Even before the official press moment with George Russell was scheduled, it emerged that Mercedes had arranged a separate interview with some British media. There Russell was able to tell his story about what had happened with Max Verstappen at the stewards. The message: according to Russell, Verstappen has been the bully in Formula 1 for years. With that interview, the tone was set, even before the official permoments in Abu Dhabi had begun.

Even before Russell's first quotes came out, Max Verstappen was in the press conference. There, he reiterated once again that Russell was a liar, that he had made up all sorts of things with the stewards and that he had completely lost respect for Russell. Shortly after the press conference, the first quotes from Russell appeared.

An hour after the press conference, it was time for Russell's press moment. Because of the earlier interview, everyone knew what to expect from the press moment with Russell and so the small room in Mercedes' hospitality was filled to the brim with journalists. Everyone wanted to hear the story from Russell, who would also tell his story at length.

Why Wolff joined Russell

Russell clearly showed emotion after everything that had been said about him in Qatar. Normally the calm self, but this time Russell bit off. According to Russell, it was Verstappen who had started swearing at the stewards, it was Verstappen who had threatened to put his head in the wall and Max would not be as worthy a champion as Lewis Hamilton.

What stood out about Russell's press moment was the presence of Toto Wolff. The Mercedes team boss joined Russell, mainly to attack his old rival Christian Horner. The latter had said about Russell in Qatar that he had been behaving "hysterically". Wolff did not accept this and so he too took the floor in the session that is normally for the drivers only.

Wolff probably chose this moment because otherwise he would not have been able to tell his story until Sunday. Now, before the weekend started, he could respond to everything that had been said in front of almost all the media present in Abu Dhabi. In doing so, Wolff was also ahead of his rival, as Horner sits down at the team bosses' press conference on Friday.

Wolff clearly chose to attack Horner. Wolff did not interfere in the fight between Russell and Verstappen. The only thing Wolff spoke out about was Horner and the cursing of drivers. With the latter, Wolff himself stated that it was one of the few things he agreed on with Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Mercedes' counterattack was to be expected after Verstappen and Horner's statements. How it was handled, the timing of publications and Wolff's presence suggested the team had thought this through smartly.

How Verstappen reacted to Mercedes' counterattack

Verstappen himself was not shocked by the statements made. After repeating his words in the press conference, he joined the press session with the Dutch media. His press officer initially announced that Max did not want to say anything more about Russell, but Max and his press officer were not yet aware of everything Russell and Wolff had said on the day. Updated by the Dutch journalists, Max drew only one conclusion: 'George is doing what he did to the stewards, which is lying.'

Whereas Russell had spoken in much detail about the conversation at the stewards and the conversation at the drivers' parade, Max did not want to say too many words about it. Verstappen at least denied that he had threatened to put Russell in the wall, as he also denied all the other things Russell had pointed out.

Verstappen was particularly irritated by George's changed attitude. According to Verstappen, Russell had tried to stab him in the back at the stewards, only to cheerfully arrive at the drivers' parade the following day. Verstappen had no appetite for that. Where Russell thought him a bully, Verstappen had his own word for Russell: ''Yes, and he is a backstabber.''