George Russell calls Max Verstappen 'pathetic' after recent bust-up

The animosity between Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell continues to heat up several days after the pair had a confrontation at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last week. Russell does not appear to be interested in letting bygones be bygones as he calls the argument with the reigning world champion "a little bit pathetic."

It may be remembered that the Briton smashed into the side of Verstappen's car in the opening lap of the Sprint Race in Baku. The Dutchman was left with a gaping hole on his sidepod, but was lucky to avoid a DNF by staying away from the barriers despite the collision. He lost third place to Russell as a result, but was able to gain the position back to finish on the podium.

However, he was not happy about what the Mercedes driver did, and was on the radio calling for a penalty as soon as it happened. The stewards decided not to investigate, which left Verstappen even more frustrated. He decided to go up to Russell after the race to give him a piece of his mind. He allegedly gave the Briton a warning about what to expect in the future and then called him a "d*ckhead." Apparently, he also used the "F-word" a number of times during the heated exchange.

Ahead of this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Russell hit back at Verstappen and said: "He has had his fair share of giving moves like that and being tough and hard at racing," Russell said, referring to Verstappen's reputation of being an aggressive racer.

He then went on to speak more about the two-time world champion's attitude, and any diplomacy between the two has clearly flown out the window at this point. "It's a little bit poor to see how he spat his dummy out when he got something back in the same regard."

Russell also gave Verstappen a warning of his own after the latter told him to expect the same aggressive behaviour on track in the future. "Something you learn as a kid is if you give something you've got to be prepared to take it as well," said Russell, as quoted by the BBC.

The Mercedes up-and-comer further emphasised that he had no idea how mad Verstappen was at the end of the race. He sees the incident as "good racing," and thought that the Dutchman was simply coming over to have a chat. He believes that he had already won the corner at turn two, and Verstappen should have backed off. Instead, he tried to hold his position on the outside. Verstappen meanwhile, insists Russell should have left enough space instead of nearly squeezing him into the wall.

Verstappen has since brushed away the conflict, saying that his relationship with the Mercedes driver is "absolutely fine."

Russell insists that he is there to fight for victories, and he isn't planning on going easy on Verstappen on the track. Meanwhile, the same sentiment is being shared by Verstappen's own teammate.

Sergio Perez has been leaving no doubt that he fully intends to challenge his teammate for the Drivers' World Championship title this season.

The two Red Bulls have won all four races of the current campaign so far, and they have two victories each. Perez also won the first Sprint Race of the season, but is six points behind after a qualifying mishap in Australia forced him to start at the back of the grid.

He has not failed to remind everyone that he should already be leading the title race if he did not suffer issues in Melbourne. Red Bull has insisted that they are treating both fairly, and it remains to be seen if tension builds up between the two sides of the garage.