Explosive Russell rant as he rips into the 'manipulative' Verstappens

George Russell has accused Max Verstappen and his father, Jos, of meddling in intra-team politics and forcing Christian Horner out of the team.

Russell made the comments on Netflix show Drive to Survive as he also addressed the rumours linking Verstappen to a switch to Mercedes - which cast his own future in the team into doubt - as a deliberate tactic to squeeze Horner out of the door at Red Bull Racing with the help of former Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko.

Horner, who was eventually forced out from the team last season, has openly blamed Marko for his departure, but held nothing against Jos and Max Verstappen. Russell however, seems to think it’s different and accused the father and son combination of exerting their influence on the team. "The Verstappens clearly have a lot of power within that team," the Mercedes driver says. "They like to manipulate situations, and quite often.

"For whatever reason, they don’t like Horner and are trying to push him out. I wonder if this [the rumours about Verstappen moving to Mercedes, ed.] isn’t some kind of game meant to pressure Red Bull so that he only stays if Christian leaves."

Jos Verstappen did not mince words in his criticism of Horner and has repeatedly said after his departure that calm has now returned under the leadership of Laurent Mekies. Horner has not spoken out about the Verstappens, saying that he did not hold them accountable for his ousting.

Horner, who is linked with a return to F1 at Alpine, said to Netflix: "Max’s father was never my biggest fan. He often spoke out about me. I don’t believe the Verstappens are responsible. It was a decision by Oliver Mintzlaff [Managing Director of Red Bull GmbH, who, I think, was advised by Helmut. I think some things changed within the organisation. After Dietrich [Mateschitz, Red Bull co-founder] passed away, people probably expected I would gain too much power."

Things between Horner and Verstappen are still good. The two are still in regular contact via WhatsApp, as Verstappen himself said."It’s important to recognise what Christian has done for this team and what we have experienced together: the first title in 2021, the whole year leading up to it, the finale in Abu Dhabi. Those are moments you never forget."