Russell, Verstappen Feud Appears To Have Made F1 Drivers’ End Of Season Dinner Just A Bit Awkward

I feel like the F1 season ended a couple of weeks too soon, and that's because of the flare-up between star drivers George Russell of Mercedes and four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

The two went at it ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Verstappen said that Russell lobbied for him to get a penalty that cost him pole position the weekend before in Qatar, while Russell contended that after the penalty had been dished out, Verstappen threatened to put him into the wall.

Well, it sure seems like the animosity is real, because Verstappen's new teammate, Liam Lawson, told a very funny story about what went down at the drivers' annual year-end dinner.

Lawson — who just this week was named Red Bull's newest driver, replacing Sergio Perez — made an appearance on the podcast, Pitstop.

The hosts asked about the annual drivers' dinner, which features most of the grid getting together ahead of the final Grand Prix of the season.

This year, everyone knew about the tension between Russell and Verstappen, and because the grid is full of ball-busters, Lawson said they did their best to make sure Russell and Verstappen ended up having to sit next to each other.

After saying how good the food was, Lawson decided to tell a story that he teased as "f--king funny," and he was right.

He said that he sat at one end of the table with Verstappen, while the other end of the table was full, leaving the only available seats at their end of the table.

"George hadn't turned up at this point; hadn't arrived yet," Lawson said. "We were like, ‘This is perfect.’ Everyone that was coming before them we were like, ‘Fill that side of the table.’"

They saved Russell his special seat next to his buddy Max, and then he finally showed up (by the way, this is why you get to places on time).

"And then George," Lawson said. "And Max was like, ‘Mate, we’ve saved a seat for you.'"

Russell didn't seem to find this as funny as the rest of the drivers did.

"George just picks up the chair and walks to the other end of the table and sits on the other side of the table with Lewis (Hamilton), his teammate."

Lawson admitted that it didn't end up being quite as funny as they all thought it was going to be.

"We thought it would be funny," he said. "It wasn't funny, [although] it was funny for us."

He also said that Russell didn't say anything during the dinner about the joke either.

Well, we'll see if tempers cool down over the offseason, although if I were a betting man — and I am — I'd bet that they'll be just as hot when the 2025 season begins a few months from now in Bahrain.