"I think it began with a ‘D’" - George Russell on being called a d***head by Max Verstappen in Baku earlier in the season

George Russell has shrugged off the post-sprint incident between him and Max Verstappen, where the Red Bull driver called him a d***head.

Russell was on the Beyond the Grid podcast where he was questioned about what happened earlier in the season in Baku. In what was the first sprint weekend of the season, Russell had contact with Max at the start of the sprint.

As a result, Max Verstappen's sidepod was severely damaged as he thought that George Russell's move at the start of the race was too aggressive. When the Belgian-Dutch driver confronted Russell after the sprint, the Brit just put it down to racing and shrugged off the incident which led to him being called a d***head by Verstappen.

When questioned about the incident on the Beyond the Grid podcast, George Russell said:

"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."

He added:

"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."

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George Russell thinks Max Verstappen does not need to apologize for his behavior

When questioned if Max Verstappen had come back and apologized, George Russell said that such things don't really matter.

Russell believes that, at the end of the day, stuff said in the heat of the moment should not be given too much importance and it is "water under the bridge."

He said:

"Oh, no, not at all. There’s never an apology needed, I think. I’m trying to think of an occasion where we’ve collided on track together, but I don’t think there’s ever really been one."

He added:

"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."

Max Verstappen was quite furious at George Russell in Baku because the aggressive move from the Mercedes driver had cost the Red Bull driver the opportunity to fight for the win in the sprint.