Max Verstappen tells George Russell what he thinks after Lando Norris 'bet'
George Russell said he would be tempted to "bet some money" on drama between Formula 1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on track at the Mexican Grand Prix
by Daniel Moxon · The MirrorMax Verstappen laughed off George Russell's claim that he would "bet some money" on drama between the Dutchman and Lando Norris on Sunday.
The two title-chasing racers qualified next to each other on the grid for the Mexican Grand Prix. Verstappen slightly outpaced the man chasing him for drivers' championship glory to secure the second grid slot behind pole-sitter Carlos Sainz.
Norris made sure he would line up directly behind the Dutchman. And fellow Brit Russell, who was fifth fastest in his Mercedes, was eyeing the prospect of fireworks between them if they battle wheel-to-wheel once again, like there were in Austin a week earlier.
He said: "With Max and Lando second and third, you can probably bet some money there will be a bit of action one way or another.
"I have a great position... just relax and watch it happen. It is going to be an interesting race. I do not expect us [Mercedes] to be in the fight but, if they are battling with one another, maybe we can [challenge for the podium]."
Russell's comments were put to Verstappen as he spoke to reporters ahead of Sunday's race. In response, he let out a laugh before dismissing the significance of the Mercedes driver's view. He simply replied: "That is totally fine, you know. He just does what he wants."
Verstappen and Norris are good friends away from F1 but the title battle between them has put that relationship to the test. It survived a collision in Austria in the summer but tensions flared again last week after they duelled on track and the Brit was given a penalty for an illegal overtake on his rival.
Some of their fellow drivers said Verstappen should have also been penalised for pushing the McLaren off track. And, in the wake of that, the drivers' briefing in Mexico ahead of this weekend's race was "lively", according to Sky Sports F1's Craig Slater.
He reported: "It was a lively drivers' meeting in Mexico City overnight and there were direct exchanges between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen about defending and overtaking. But I have been told they were 'calm' and 'respectful'.
"The meeting kicked off with the drivers asking the FIA how stewards make decisions in cases like the Verstappen and Norris clash. They wanted to better understand the process. Interestingly, while delivering that explanation the FIA admitted it would draft some updated wordings to the racing guidelines and send that back to the drivers for review."
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