George Russell’s seat near Max Verstappen in the Abu Dhabi team dinner was planned by F1 drivers, says Liam Lawson
Red Bull driver Liam Lawson has spilled the beans on the F1 drivers' dinner ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where Max Verstappen and George Russell were supposed to sit alongside each other. The four-time F1 world champion and the Mercedes driver had a heated war of words before the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit regarding their controversial moment in Qatar.
While appearing on the PitStop podcast, Lawson shared that the rest of the drivers decided to take the mickey out of the heated exchanges between Verstappen and Russell to dial down the tension, revealing:
"So we rock up and we're at this big table and me and Yuki got there together and we weren't the first people there. But as the table was filling up, there was pretty much one side of the table was pretty much full. There were like three chairs to the left at the center of the table that were left and George hadn't turned up at this point.
Everybody that was coming before them were like, 'Fill that side of the table. We're going to save this spot for George right next to Max.' Then George arrives and we're all, 'Hey,' and then Max is like, 'Mate we've saved a seat for you.' George just picks up the chair, walks to the other end of the table, and sits with Lewis. We thought it would be funny, but it wasn't funny." (15:40)
Russell and Verstappen did not hold back in their comments against each other to the media. Both called the other a "bully".
Liam Lawson gives his take on partnering with Max Verstappen
Liam Lawson has said after being officially confirmed as Max Verstappen's teammate on the Red Bull team (via Sky Sports):
"I also want to thank, Christian [Horner], Helmut [Marko], and the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am super excited to work alongside Max Verstappen and learn from a World Champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise."
The New Zealander will join the world champion with just 11 races of experience at the pinnacle of motorsport after his two short stints with its Faenza-based sister outfit RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda in 2023 and 2024. The 22-year-old would be under immense pressure racing alongside Verstappen given his lack of experience in the sport and a huge prospective learning curve at the Milton Keynes outfit.