Russell: "Max is probably less aggressive than he’s ever been in the past"

George Russell believes Max Verstappen is less aggressive in duels in Formula 1 than in recent years. The Mercedes driver then also suggests that he himself is currently taking a more aggressive approach than the two-time world champion does in his RB19.

Russell sees Verstappen changing

In his early years in the pinnacle of motorsport, Verstappen went for even the smallest gap he saw on the track. The now 25-year-old Dutchman often took big risks and his colleagues were not always pleased. At the time, Verstappen himself explained several times that to be successful, he had to take that approach. After all, he was in an inferior car than his competitors.

Russell agrees. With the W14, he does not have a car at his disposal with which he can easily drive to podiums, so he has to pull out all the stops to get good results. Russell, therefore, notices on the track today that Verstappen gives more space than before while fighting for every metre on the track himself.

"When you’re battling for a championship you fight slightly differently and equally now Max is probably less aggressive than he’s ever been in the past, because he’s not in a position that he needs to be aggressive. And he can lose a position and know that he’ll get it back later down the line. Whereas we’re probably in a bit more of a ‘do or die’ position now to get that one chance of victory throughout a season", he told Autosport.com.