JACK WHITEHALL did not hold back from putting Max Verstappen on the spotlight during the F1 75 launch event.
Verstappen and his fellow Formula One drivers were all in attendance at the O2 Arena to celebrate the sport’s 75th anniversary as teams revealed their car liveries ahead of the new season.
However, during the event the reigning world champion was picked on by comedian-turned-presenter Jack Whitehall over his argument with Mercedes driver George Russell towards the end of last season.
As Whitehall walked past, he said: “Cheer up Max, it could’ve been worse.
“We didn’t sit you next to George Russell.”
Verstappen, 27, gave a wry smile to the comment before the camera panned over to a smiling Russell.
The Dutchman and Russell had heated run-in following the Qatar Grand Prix in December last year after Verstappen allegedly said he would deliberately crash into the Brit.
But the argument boiled over at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as the 27-year-old branded the four-time world champ a “bully” — while Verstappen hit back by labelling Russell a “backstabber” and “loser”.
Speaking at the event last night, Russell said he and the Red Bull driver “hadn’t spoken” over the winter, and insisted he had “no intention” of burying the hatchet.
He added: “I’ve got no intentions to, to be honest. That happened last year. I want to focus on myself.
“Things got out of line last year. We are not going to go back to being best mates, that’s for sure. I have no concerns about him or his driving.
“I made it pretty clear I’m not going to take it. But now it’s 2025 and I’m focused on the job and the job is to win.
“So I’m not going to change my approach, fighting him or fighting any other drivers. The goal is the same.”
Meanwhile, Verstappen was less fiery on the subject, admitting he will put the issue to one side by saying: “I have no intention to continue any beef in February.”
Instead, Verstappen aimed his ire towards the FIA following their controversial introduction of harsher rules on drivers swearing during media duties.
Drivers can be hit with a €10,000 (£8,300) fine for a first offence, escalating to a fine of €30,000 (£25,900) plus a one-month suspension and a deduction of World Championship points for a third offence.
Asked about it last night, Verstappen went full Jose Mourinho as he said: “I prefer not to speak about that. Otherwise I’ll get in trouble.”
But in a roundtable discussion later on, he said: “If you look at everyone’s reaction to it, that says enough.
“In the heat of the moment when you get interviewed in your car, sometimes things slip out.
“We grew up playing sports, it happens, you use a swear word.
“We shouldn’t take it so seriously. I’m also not going to tell them how to behave in life.
“You need to use a bit of common sense and, besides that, I prefer we actually focus on other topics — to try to improve safety, try to improve the overall performance of F1 cars — instead of actually having to focus on all these kind of things.”
The first such case under these rules happened last weekend when World Rally Car driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined €10,000 (£8,300) for using inappropriate language during a live post-stage interview.
This included an additional suspended fine of €20,000 (£16,600).
