Russell: Verstappen threatened to 'put me on my f-----g head in the wall'

Mercedes driver George Russell had some harsh things to say about Max Verstappen, claiming the driver's champion threatened to intentionally injure him after the two visited stewards about an incident during qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.

"I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he said he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and 'put me on my f-----g head in the wall,'" Russell said Thursday after Verstappen accused him of being two-faced during a TV interview, according to ESPN's Nate Saunders.

Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty and lost pole position to Russell for the Qatar GP after he appeared to slow down to block the Mercedes driver during qualifying.

The Red Bull driver won the race despite the penalty but said he "lost all respect" for Russell because of how he handled the situation with the stewards.

However, Russell added Thursday that he was tired of being bullied by Verstappen, who was unnecessarily aggressive and acted violently toward him as they exited the steward's meeting.

"I honestly just want to set the record straight, to be honest. Because it's just a total double standard that he has for the regulations, and just thinking that he is above everybody else," Russell said.

"It's not me trying to assert my leadership style or anything. It's just somebody has come out and said that I'm a two-faced motherf----r, and he's entitled to his own opinions.

"But coming out and saying that publicly, and slamming me publicly, as I say, I'm just not going to accept it, and I'm going to tell people what the reality was."

This weekend's event in Abu Dhabi is the final race on the Formula 1 calendar. Verstappen has already locked up the drivers' title, while Russell is sixth in the standings.

Red Bull enters the season's last race third in the constructor's standings, 59 points behind McLaren for the top position. Mercedes sits fourth.