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chilling-seavey · 20 days ago

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Clash of Perspectives: Analyzing the Dual Narratives Behind the Verstappen and Russell Public Dispute

Disclaimer: This 'essay' is entirely my opinion, aimed to be from an unbiased point of view. I like both Max and George as drivers and as people; they are both on my 'favourites' list. This post is not hate and should not be read as such; this is supposed to simply offer a viewpoint from both parties, perhaps educate on what has been going on, and discuss what I believe is fair or unjust in this back and forth. This is essay is not about debating if the Qatar qualifying penalty was or was not fair; this essay is about the social and very public dispute between Verstappen and Russell.

Last weekend, after receiving a 1-place grid penalty after qualifying pole in Qatar, Max Verstappen spoke to the media about how the penalty discussion was handled in the stewards' room. He had many things to say about his counterpart, George Russell, who had apparently insisted upon Max receiving a penalty for alleged 'impeding' despite neither driver being on a fast lap. Since Max's words to the media, social media has been ablaze with F1 fans taking sides and at each other's throats over this back and forth. There can be a lot to say here and I through this essay, I hope to inform others about what has been happening while also offering my personal opinions on how both Max and George have handled this situation (as of December 5, 2024).

I have broken it down into three topics for ease of reading. Please read everything carefully before commenting or engaging in conversation; especially if your response differs in opinion than the ones written here. Discourse is always welcome but let's please be respectful if our opinions differ. At the end of the day, we're just fans of a bunch of millionaires who don't know we exist.

1 - George's Character

My main 'concern' from this last weekend is the comparison to how both parties handled themselves in the face of this situation and how they spoke about their counterpart. The main reason I decided to make this essay was because the main discussions (and, honestly, hate) I've seen across social media since this issue arose is mainly stemming from these initial comments delivered by Max.

December 1, 2024 — Max

This whole initial interview shocked me, honestly. It's been known that when Max was starting out in this sport, he could be very brash and his reactions were arguably immature. This season, I have been very impressed by how he has generally carried himself in the media from weekend to weekend. Even when the title fight with Lando got very heated, very tense, and words were said, Max always seemed very calm and collected and mature when asked about it by the media. He got major brownie points from me for this because it showed he was capable of understanding the time and place to be overly harsh or angry or critical and he held himself very articulately and maturely in interviews. There was no belittling of his counterparts [Lando, at the time] and nothing of the sort.

So, seeing this statement from Max as of this weekend, I was very disappointed in how he carried himself and how he treated the situation with George. Of course, Max has every right to be frustrated and upset and angry and whatever other emotion he had been feeling since the stewards meeting; I am definitely not arguing that. As I'll touch on later in this essay, what was said in the stewards' is never publicized for reason so we don't know what really happened in there. Maybe George was very angry and brash (and last weekend he already seemed to be in a grumpy mood re: McLaren sprint 1-2 situation) in that meeting, maybe he said some things he shouldn't have, but that's not an excuse for Max to speak to the media like this. Yes, Max has every right to be as angry as he wants at George, regardless of what went down! He could throw darts at a picture of George's face on his drivers room wall for all I care! That's his business.

Speaking to a disagreement with a fellow driver is one thing. Expressing disappointment, frustration, feelings that something was unjust is one thing. But this statement was entirely passed the line of mature or respectful or, frankly, professional. This isn't just some example of 'Oh, that's just Max just being Max and telling it like it is'; he can still be that way — true to who he is — but also be respectful. I've seen it throughout this season with how he carried himself in regard to the tensions with Lando. He is capable of it and I don't underestimate that he's smart enough to know that.

I've seen a lot of social media content now all content that Max 'brought the truth about George out' which I believe is incredibly unfair. Claiming that George is two-faced simply because he acts one way in media duties/in front of the camera and a different way off camera doesn't make him two-faced or conniving. It makes him a mature and respectful professional.

I think there’s nothing wrong with George or anyone acting differently on camera than behind closed doors. In order to put myself in the shoes of the drivers in instances like this, I always try to view this sport like a career…like a day at the office. The drivers being in front of the cameras is like me talking to my clients. I should be censoring myself, carrying myself politely, respectfully, maturely. I reflect the company for which I am hired. If I am super mad at my boss or a co-worker or a competitor or anything, I’m not going to be bitching about it to my client. That’s not right or appropriate. Hence, why George might 'appear more polite to the cameras’. He’s carrying himself professionally in a situation that requires it.

On the other hand, if there is an issue between co-workers and our boss, that’s where we can be more pushy, more ourselves, or whatever else we need to be to get our point across. We want to fight for what we think is right; it’s a private place away from our 'clients’ or the public in this matter where we can do this. Of course, we don’t know the extent of this specific situation because none of us were there, but I think Max (and, later, in his reply, George) laying all that out to dry on a public platform is still uncalled for. What happens in the stewards’ space isn’t publicized for a reason. Just like what happens in my 1-1 meetings with my bosses doesn't get spread all over the office and to my clients. That’s the behind the scenes work. Their private discourse.

I don’t see it like George being 'two faced’ as Max seemed to imply and how some fans have seemed to take it. I understand it to be he composes himself professionally in front of his 'clients’ to reflect the name of his 'company' to the best of his ability, and, behind closed doors, he can fight a little more and be a bit more open and brash for what he wants to achieve. That’s honestly incredibly mature of him to do. Never have I seen him be 'secretive' or 'conniving' or anything like that. I also believe that Max wasn't trying to be conniving or manipulative by stating these things about George; just that his emotions were high and he's human.

December 5, 2024 — George

I loved this response from George. I, myself, have had people — even in my professional life — try to come for my character and my integrity and I know how much that can hurt, especially when you, yourself, know how you carry yourself. In knowing this, George had every right to defend himself and I think he did so incredibly respectfully but firmly, and didn't slander or hate on Max in any uncalled for way in these above quotes.

"He's entitled to his own opinions" stands out the most to me; he's not getting angry at the fact that someone isn't a fan of him currently or is upset with him. He carried himself how he thought was best, did what he needed to do, and if Max needs to sit with those emotions and chooses to step away from him because of it, he has the right to. That is so respectful of George to say and honestly I was in awe by these screenshots.

George made great points in his interview with SkySports (One | Two) in reminding us that F1 drivers 'fighting' for penalties against their rivals isn't new. He even mentioned how during the Qatar GP this same weekend, Max was insisting on the radio that Lando be reported for not lifting under the yellow. He had every right to do that, just like George had every right to push for a penalty where he saw fit after the qualifying incident. Whether George was quiet and submissive in the stewards or if he was raising his voice and being very persistent is irrelevant here; it doesn't justify Max publically slandering his name and his character.

Whether Max is 4x WDC or hasn't earned a single point in the sport, that doesn't excuse anyone to come on public media and slander someone's name to unjustifiable amounts. Expressing discontent, disappointment, frustration is one thing — it's understandable and appreciated by the fans to see that insight where necessary — but to this extent is nothing short of rude. Max is human at the end of the day and he's not a perfect person; no one is. In knowing this, it wouldn't be fair to hold this situation against him for the rest of time, but being disappointed in how he handled it is valid.

2 - Max's Character

Although the initial situation here was surrounding how Max spoke to George's character last weekend, George's response from this week contained a lot of things to analyze as well. It wouldn't be a comparative study if I didn't look at both sides fairly.

December 5, 2024 — George

Although George did deliver the above statements in a way that was still generally respectful and professional, I believe that he was getting a little bit too into the discourse here. Sure, there may be another argument to have that there was some truth behind his claims of Max being a harsh racer, willing to do anything and everything to get to where he is at the top, and a few moments this season (at least, that I can speak to having witnessed) on the radio where Max might have come across pushy/whiny to 'get his way'. However, I never like to use radio messages as examples or to hold against someone, because that's when everyone's adrenaline is at its peak and its easy to say things in the heat of the moment, in a rush of passion.

One one side, there can be an arguable bias in George's statements here as a rival driver also fighting to be the best but also as a die-hard Lewis fan and as Lewis' teammate. I think — and this is my personal opinion and assumption — that George may 95% of the time take Lewis' side. That doesn't make George wrong or a bad person, that's just his own preferences and biases. Just like how you reading this might be a die-hard fan to one driver but your friend might adore someone completely different so you sometimes clash heads on certain topics. That's your individual biases arguably altering your arguments. Again, that's not to say it's a bad thing. It's just what it is. You fight for what you are passionate about.

Looping back to my main point of this essay, however, I will reiterate the fact that George is going a bit off topic here and I don't necessarily agree with how specific and in depth he went. Especially saying that "people have been bullied by Max for years now". Max isn't the first driver to say harsh opinions and statements about fellow drivers to the media and I'm sure he won't be the last. It's borderline too 'personal' and, yes, although he delivered it respectfully and there may be an arguable truth behind some of the words, I don't think any of this above statement was necessary for the situation at hand. It made it feel almost too 'political'.

I have also seen people using the clip of George and Bottas from 2021 as a way to claim George is a "hypocrite" for saying the above. That is a weak and lazy excuse, just looking for something to use as ammo to had more hate to the fire. Looking at the bigger picture and how someone has grown and changed over the years and through their experience is important. If George was crashing into people and then hitting them for it on a monthly basis, perhaps your argument for this would stand. George wasn't here saying Max sucks and he's always rude and violent and a million other things, he made a few fair points that have proof for backup from the past, albeit was unnecessary to bring up in this instance.

My above statements stand here, too. Maybe even more so here. This feels very gossip-y to me and, again, uncalled for. I wanted to make this quote have it's own notes because the ones above here borderline too far, this one is very much too far. Very unnecessary and unneeded.

3 - The Alleged Threat

I first heard of Max's alleged 'threat' towards George on a SkySports broadcast (I can't currently find the link, if you have it, please let me know so I can add it in) where the commentator was saying many people had overheard Max threaten George. This was brought up by George upon his media interviews this week and then immediately responded to by Max as well.

About this threat, George is quoted in a SkySports interview as saying: "I don't want to bring this to the stewards...I had no intention of bringing this up [...] but he made it personal". In my viewpoint, this quote shows that despite this supposed threat (whether it's 100% true or not, we don't know and we might not ever know), he was willing to move on from it without blowing it up and coming for Max publicly. This is a fair statement given that George felt is necessary to defend himself against the slander towards his character in a situation where otherwise there might have just been big feelings but leaving it on the track.

December 5, 2024 — George

December 5, 2024 — Max

At the end of the day, what hasn’t been publicized is a game of he said/she said. We can hope they’re being truthful but we have to remember that they haven’t been sworn under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help them God, so both will ultimately have their personal biases that will skew their recollection of the reality of the situation. They are also humans who will often express themselves of come across to other unlike how they indented. Max saying "he's exaggerating" might be the truth, or it might simply boil down to how his confrontation or his words might have come across to George in terms of his tone or underlying meanings. It doesn't mean that one is more correct than the other.

Overall, I think we should take the claims of what happened off camera with this understanding. In all honesty, it’s none of our business. What happens in the stewards isn’t publicized for a reason. We can hear either side tell their story but the only people who know what really happened are the two involved. We shouldn't come at George for being a 'liar' when we weren't there. Just as we shouldn't come at Max for being a 'bully' because, again, we weren't there.

This leads me to my next point in mentioning that Max claims here that you don't have to share everything that happened behind closed doors. I agree with this. As I mentioned above, the stewards is not publicized for a reason, and George took it a bit too far with the information there, going far into details from the past that weren't necessarily relevant to share. Yes, he was respectful in delivering this, but it wasn't needed.

And, yet again, Max has returned with throwing slander on George's name. "Loser", "backstabber", "dramatic". Instead of owning up to how he handled the initial media statements from the previous weekend, he kept at it. Once can be easily excusable; boiling down to a bad day, maybe he had something going on behind the scenes, maybe he's just human and made a mistake in how he handled it, simple as that. But twice? Days apart? This really disappoints me. I really like Max and his tell-it-like-it-is style of honesty but there comes a time where it crosses a line between honesty and rudeness.

Additionally, there is something to say about Max staying true to himself no matter where he is, that can be a positive thing. He's not swayed by outside forces. However, in such a media driven career that he has, where everything is publicized and scrutinized and can have such intense consequences, I think he needs to remind himself of 'time and place'. Like I mentioned earlier, he was great this season in handling questions about the fights and 'name calling'/'finger-pointing' from Lando, always aiming to be respectful and mature, so this is very jarring to me. He can still stay true to himself but be respectful. He can still be blunt and straight forward but not tear someone down at the same time. One does not excuse the other.

To me, the way someone carries themselves in their professional life versus personal life is so important. George seems to have a good grasp on this and I thought Max had started to develop this too.

4 - The Takeaways

I hope this was at all helpful in gaining a better understanding of the situation. I am just so tired of seeing blatant hate on my social media pages about Max and about George. Discourse and expression of opinion on a topic is one thing but taking to the level of making jokes on someone's behalf or being straight up rude is unneeded. From what I have seen so far, the Max 'hate' has been more on the discourse and disappointment side whereas the George 'hate' has been so incredibly brutal. This surprises me given that the issue Max had with George in the first place wasn't even publicized. We have no idea what happened, so why is everyone feeling the need to agree with him when you don't know these people in real life and you weren't there to witness the situation in the first place?

To those who are making posts with digs at George such as belittling his skill, persona, or performance (i.e. "George has no trouble putting himself in the wall, he doesn't need Max's help with that" or "george would [be dramatic and] say that max told him he hopes he dies") are incredibly uncalled for and presumptuous and, yes, I stand by my prior claim that it is immature. You think that is funny but it's really not. You can not like a driver and still be respectful on public forums. You can disagree with a driver, express your opinions, and still be respectful. Just because you think the person won't see it doesn't mean a) they won't or b) their fans want to see that. It just makes you look petty.

I don't anticipate either party apologizing, which is their own prerogative. Honestly, I'm just glad this happened at the end of the season so we can let it go and let the two involved parties deal with this as they see fit. It's only theirs to deal with anyway.

Let's have a safe a respectful final race of the season.

Additionally, I would like to hear from those who genuinely believe George is two-faced. If you have tangible proof of these claims, please feel free to slide into my ask box. Please be respectful though. I will delete any messages that are unnecessarily rude or hateful. We don't have to agree, but don't be offensive either. I don't have the time or patience for that.

Sources, Max: independant.co.uk | motorsport.com Sources, George: motorsport.com | racer.com

#god i spent 3 hours writing this i shit you not #no ones going to read this i bet but maybe i just needed to get it out of my system #i finally feel like i can BREATHE holy shit #also it goes without saying if youre rude your comment or ask will be deleted #im not entertaining that #max verstappen #george russell #qatar gp 2024 #qatar24 #gax #f1 #formula 1 #formula 1 essay #abu dhabi gp 2024

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