"All that talk only for him to bottle it in lap 1 once again": Fans react to George Russell's cheeky dig at Max Verstappen
George Russell took a cheeky dig at Max Verstappen after the Mercedes driver pipped his Red Bull rival to pole position in Canada. As the Mercedes star is set to start the race from the front and alongside Verstappen, he joked about the latter being one point away from a race ban, and fans shared their reactions on his comment.
Russell was over one-and-a-half tenths faster than Verstappen, and secured P1 for the Canadian GP. He will start alongside the Dutchman in the front row. However, Russell and Verstappen, starting side by side, has triggered massive wheel-to-wheel battles between the two drivers in the past, and even led to some collisions.
Most recently, Max Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty after hitting Russell in Spain. Following this, the Red Bull star received three penalty points and now stands one point away from a race ban. Citing it, Russell stated that he has got a few more points on his license to play with.
The Mercedes driver seemingly hinted at a Lap 1 battle between him and Verstappen, as the Red Bull driver tends to go around the outside or dive deep inside to try and take the lead on the first lap. As Russell's comment surfaced on the internet, fans shared their reactions on social media.
Here's what they wrote on the micro-blogging site, X, formerly Twitter:
Reacting to it, a fan wrote, "All that talk only for him to bottle it in lap 1 once again tomorrow."
"I will be there for lights out. gotta see if Max yields or takes the ban," wrote a fan.
Here are some more reactions from F1 fans on X:
"Hope Max will cook him," another fan wrote.
Another fan wrote, "Start gonna be interesting, someone gonna do kamikaze."
"And then he gets beaten on turn 1!" commented a fan.
How did Max Verstappen and George Russell react to their qualifying performance?
George Russell and Max Verstappen shared their thoughts with Sky Sports after they picked P1 and P2 on Saturday for the Canadian GP. Speaking to the media, here's what Russell said:
"Today was awesome, in front of this amazing crowd! To get this pole, that last lap was one of the most exhilarating laps of my life. I knew this lap was mighty. I have a few more points on my license to play with. So, let's see."
Max Verstappen, who qualified in P2, said:
"I felt good all weekend, the car was actually in a good window. Overall, I'm very happy with Qualifying. The tough choice was the tires, and I think we did the right thing. I would always pick P1, but [P2] is fine, I'm already very happy with what we achieved to be on the front row.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri qualified in P3, while Russell's teammate, Kimi Antonelli, will start from fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris qualified in P7.