leaf ☆

just my f1 obsession mv3 and gr63 defender

[leafsheepie]

so you’re telling me that mercedes, one of the most data driven teams, do not know the cause of george’s engine failure in canada? the component is going take SEVERAL MONTHS to be shipped to the uk for examination. are they delivering it there via pigeon?

my expression when i saw the news deadass:

[leafsheepie]

this russtappen interview. during the chinese gp media day with tencent sport, george mentions max not once, not twice but THREE times. on the very first question regarding w17’s performance, about his who his dream teammate is and who has the best bromance in the paddock.

“we obviously saw verstappen had a bad qualifying”

“well i’ve always said i wanted to be teammates with max”

“obviously myself and max are very good friends”

we love a multi-tasking king, not only did he point out max’s shit quali in aus, he also proceeded to call max a “driver at an incredible level” when elaborating on why max is his dream teammate.

[leafsheepie]

as a later fan to the sport, every bit of brocedes lore reads like fanfiction to me. i’m discovering new info like “no…that can’t be real…can it??” at 12am on pinterest. what do you mean they grew up different in every way but shared the same dream. what do you mean nico speaks highly of lewis still, and has even interviewed him before. WHAT DO YOU MEAN crofty called them “everything but lovers”?? their relationship has every fucking trope under the sun. i’d laugh at the cliches if i read this on ao3.

[leafsheepie]

Recount of the MAJOR Max and George clashes.

Or: THE BIG THREE

(disclaimer: this is meant to be brief so check out the comments or add your own for details I missed ❤️)

2023

Azerbaijan: See it here.

On track collision between the two during the sprint race which gave the Redbull car a hole on the side pod. George was on the inside line and Max on the outside. Later, Max IMMEDIATELY goes to confront George post-race. George says he locked up with cold tyres and Max dismisses it, telling him to leave space. As George walks away, Max tells him to expect the same next time and calls him a dickhead.

“I’m not just gonna wave him by because he’s Max Verstappen in a Redbull” - George post-race interview. He defended himself by saying he had the apex.

“He’s very good at explaining and creating excuses” - Max post-race interview, to George’s comment on the lock-up.

Later on, this famous quote emerges: “Oh, defending on the outside is not allowed because Princess George is there?” - Max in an interview with the Dutch media.

At this point, it was seen as a regular racing-incident.

OPINION TIME: General consensus seems to be that Max was being a little TOO bothered by it. It was the same move he used to make on others. This is BEFORE most of the George hate and people seemed to applauded him for standing up to Max.

2024

Qatar:

During the Q3, Max was driving slow on the racing line, nearly causing a collision as George drove through the gravel to avoid him. HOWEVER, George was not technically on a flying lap, rather a warm-up. So the penalty wouldn’t really need to have been reinforced. In the end, Max secured pole and George got second.

Both drivers were summoned to the stewards post-race. George pushed for a penalty, saying he felt impeded and could’ve gotten pole instead. Max got a 1 place grid drop instead of the usual 3 since neither were on a flying lap, snatching away pole for him and given to George instead.

Off-track and after the steward’s session is where the media drama begin. Max went to the media first, claiming that he’s never seen someone try to screw someone over that hard and that he’s “lost all respect” for George. He calls him two-faced and polite in front of cameras but different in person. If you want more.

Abu Dhabi:

George only responds in pre-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In his 2025 book, Ted Kravitz has since revealed that George pulled him aside in the press-pen and told him to ask as many questions he’d like so he can call Max out. If you want the whole interview with George it’s here. Guys, this is a kinda long interview, but basically George said that he’s lost respect for Max because he made it personal and someone needs to stand up to “a bully like this”. He didn’t expect Max to take it this way.

He then claims that before the race, Max had threatened him.

“I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says I’m going to purposefully crash into you, I’m going to put you on you fucking head in the wall” - George, then later going on to say that Max meant it and he could tell from his eyes.

Yes, this is where George says “whenever anything is not going his way, he lashes out with unnecessary anger and borderline violence.” Now, George claims that Max swore in the stewards room. However Crofty and other sources indicated otherwise. This is really a your word against mine situation.

They go back and forth, more things are said but I’ve summed up the general gist of it. If you want the full rundown here is a great video.

Side note on Thursday media day, Toto joined George for a press conference to back him up, calling Horner a “yapping little terrier”. I included this just because it’s a perfect description.

Erm, no opinion time for this one, I fear the wrath of both fan bases. I suffer as a fan of both. I will say though, QUIT IT with the George hate. I swear this is the catalyst to all of it :(

2025

Spain: See it here.

After a late SC, they touch and Max goes off track and gains an advantage. The team radios to tell him to give the position back to George but Max argues. When he does slow down, Max accelerates on the corner and rams into the Mercedes. He obviously gets a 10 second penalty and points docked on his super license.

Later on social media, Max has said that the collision was not right and shouldn’t have happened. In Canada, George was asked about the post, saying he’s surprised at Max taking responsibility.

[rebelliousace]

thank god george russell is over 6 feet tall bcs if he were any shorter and had to look up at the other drivers with those big doe eyes, fluttering lashes and pink lips slightly parted I bet half the grid would be down catastrophic, short-circuit on the spot and put the car straight into the barriers on the next race 😮‍💨

[merclando]

this edit is everything to me omg

[raspberry-ribcage]

barely trying not to smile, the absolute gremlin <3

[leafsheepie]

“george is too media-trained and inauthentic!” dude if it was anyone else if his position, they’d have burned mercedes into the ground. he deserved so much credit for not sliming kimi out the second that kid started leading the championship. i love kimi, he deserves his own kudos, but he is LITERALLY everything george couldn’t have.

[leafsheepie]

clip i’m still thinking about from nls2: max verstappen “harassing the safety car”

[leafsheepie]

a page of my fav semi-recent max moments

[nikogonelubly]

I'm trying to keep up to speed with you

Your lane changing is oscillating me

[leafsheepie]

genuinely my favourite f1 fanart it’s so dear to me

[ef-1]

THEY GOT THEM TO WATCH GEORGE SILENTLY WATCHING HIS CAR GETTING PUSHED BACK THIS IS FUCKING ABSURDIST PERFORMANCE ART

[f1girlygirl]

New stages of grief were unlocked at the Canadian GP

[leafsheepie]

CANADA - CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE 2/5

its so over. max was just chilling in the sprint. “everything is confusing” he says. WHAT did they do to that rb car 💔. both mercs look so speedy, another two front row lock outs. it’s sort of back?? max p3!! tho it might have been very different if the mclarens had a fighting chance. so disappointed for george.

notes:

- albon crashing out in fp1, unable to participate in sprint quali bc of a groundhog

- kimi vs george in the sprint, honestly should’ve been at least investigated

- quite a tense sprint with with the first three and the three behind bunching within a second for multiple laps

- toto telling kimi to stop complaining on the radio lol he’s played these games before

- damn george getting pole the last second, i was on the edge seeing if he could beat kimi, he was below pace all quali until that last lap

- u can tell it meant a lot to him to get some of the momentum back

- lewis and hadjar liking the car, max and charles hating it

- charles terrible p8 start

- 2 extra formation lap bc of arvid indicating his car stalled

- mclaren is the new ferrari. not listening to oscar abt wrong tyres, both mclarens pitting on lap 1 and 2

- pitting again bc oscar contacted alex (10 sec penalty) and norris went over the grass

- kimi vs george part 2 absolutely scrapping i love it

- so much battle and overtaking, lock ups and switches, kimi giving position back to george on lap 25

- they both made errors, also told to keep it clean over radio

- GEORGE DNF on lap 30, his car just suddenly loses power, first dnf since silverstone 2024

- ferrari not pitting lewis under vsc bc they weren’t sure even tho george fully stopped on track

- lando dnf, gearbox issue

- lewis vs max, meeting on podium again

- colapinto in p6, polar bear reference

- george is under bloody investigation for throwing his headrest onto the track, gets a 12 month suspended 5000 euro fine

- apparently they are investigating everything except for actual incidents now, first miami now this??

- 6 dnfs omg

- kimi was sweet in the interview and his insta post abt not wanting to win that way and feeling sorry for george

[leafsheepie]

AMERICA - MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AUTODROME 4.5/5

max is so back. p5 is not bad considering the spin at race start but he saved it. MY GOD those two final laps were beautiful. action with oscar/charles and george/max in penultimate lap. george and max getting damage from contact, in the front wing and tire. charles spun and brushed the wall which caused george to catch up and overtake just before the finish line. he crossed it with his wing scraping the ground. cinema.

notes:

- conflicted on reg tweaks

- kimi’s third win in a row

- upgrades from mclaren, ferrari and rb clearly working, waiting for merc’s in canada

- the fia banned merc and rb’s quali loophole

- kimi 4th in the sprint then dropped to 6th after track limits penalty

- audi making magic happen with getting gabi’s car on track during quali (i think his car was missing a whole engine and wing)

- hamilton vs max in the big 26

- max nearly getting pole and kimi waiting for the lap to finish in his car to see if he should park it in 1st or 2nd, SO CLOSE

- charles vs ferrari, pitting re enter into traffic, not being told why when asking on radio

- gasly flipping over

- like 5 different teams reporting rain at different times and none happening

- seeing the max new race leader graphic for like 2 secs before kimi overtook

- max verstappen the tire whisperer

- post race: charles investigated for gaining advantage leaving the track, driving in unsafe condition after hitting the wall and contact with george, max for crossing pit-exit line, george for moving under breaking

- max got a 5 sec penalty and would’ve dropped to p6 but charles got a drive through penalty which turned into 20 sec penalty post race, dropping to p8 like stop it he’s suffered enough 😭

- george is weak in low-grip circuits as a precise driver, unlike kimi who excels in sliding around

- oscar fighting with the streamers on the podium

[leafsheepie]

JAPAN - SUZUKA CIRCUIT 3/5

good start that quickly got worse and worse as a russell fan. he was so unlucky this weekend. again quali was terrible. they messed up his car set up and couldnt change it after cus of parc ferme. george said he would adapt his driving style which semi worked. he was doing fine in p2 behind oscar cus mclaren had a great start procedure. it was working until he pitted only for a SC to happen like two laps later.

notes:

- kimi is the youngest championship leader on his second win

- battle until the last lap of the race with george/charles and pierre/max

- yay oscar!!

- george’s battery screwing him over twice. first on the sc restart where he hit the harvest limit and lewis passed him. then charles passed cus he was suddenly slowing down cus the battery glitched (heart attack when commentator announced he was slowing down, i had war flashbacks to china quali)

- omg the 50g crash with ollie. these new regs are dangerous im glad it was only a knee contusion i was so worried when he was limping

- ferrari battle where they almost took each other out, george watching them duke it out again from behind lol

- max saying the car feels like he lost power steering

- max waving to gasly as he was re passed cus he lost battery after overtaking

[leafsheepie]

CHINA - SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT 3.5/5

it hurts to see max downgraded to the side box during the live. happy for kimi and it was a good sprint and race overall. youngest pole sitter and maiden win. ferrari battle was amazing. 3 mercs on podium, the family is reunited. holy shit rb needs to fix their issues. max is fighting the car everytime he turns. its so sad seeing ever car pass him on the start in sprint.

notes:

- mclaren double dns

- max retiring with ten laps to go, he was behind alpine and haas in terms of pace

- poor oscar

- media day circus (charles and carlos become livestreamers)

- alpine mechanics running to get franco’s car that stopped only to run back when it restarted in fp1

- george giving me a heart attack in quali, car stopping on track and getting p2 start with 2 minutes to go

- lando first career dns

- the announcer getting kimi’s name wrong “from italy, kimi raikkonen”

- max’s terrible quali and seeing alpine and haas doing better