Russell laughs at Verstappen in Mexico GP: 'This kid's a f***** joke'

He had previously voiced his complaint regarding several drivers corner-cutting actions at the start of the race - among which was Verstappen - which Russell interpreted as mistakes that went unpunished in detriment of the drivers who "did the right thing."

Radio chatter between the British driver and race engineer Marcus Dudley have now revealed Russell branded Verstappen as a 'joke.'

On lap 6 of the race, the Red Bull Racing driver went for an on-the-limit move on Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1 which resulted in the pair banging wheels and forcing Hamilton wide on the exit of the corner.

The seven-time world champion then responded with an equally aggressive move that saw Verstappen take to the grass, skip Turn 3 and resurface ahead of both Hamilton and Russell.

As the two former teammates approached Turn 4, Hamilton locked up and went straight on, with Verstappen also going wide, albeit not as flagrantly, with the Dutch driver rejoining the track at Turn 5 in a move that forced Russell off the track.

Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, and Russell's teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli both took advantage of the myriad of incidents getting ahead of the British Mercedes driver.

Russell then took to the radio saying, "This kid's a fucking joke," in reference to Verstappen's driving after pushing Bearman wide at Turn 8. In a quip that engulfed the incidents previously described, the 27-year-old said: "Reminds me of my first ever go-kart race."

This is not the first time both drivers have been involved in a clash with the most recent incident taking place at the Spanish Grand Prix where Verstappen collected Russell in a flagrant move that prompted the Stewards to slap him with a 10 second time sanction and three penalty points added to his super license.

Russell himself targeted the Stewarding body's lack of actions at Turn 1 at the start of the race, lamenting the absence of penalties for the drivers he believes to have been in breach of the F1 driving guidelines by cutting Turns 1 and 2.

Hamilton admitted to have been surprised by the penalty the race officials handed him for going off the track and gaining a lasting advantage.

Fernando Alonso was also insistent regarding the Stewards' decisions - or lack thereof - as he witnessed several drivers corner-cutting at the controversial start. The Spaniard claimed to have 'learned' the lesson hinting at attempting the same manoeuvre he believes his fellow F1 drivers skated penalty-free from.

During a radio conversation with race engineer Andrew Vizzard, Alonso also made reference to the FOM broadcasting methods, to try and get the Stewards to look all the track-skipping incidents that took place shortly after the lights went out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

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