George Russell and Lando Norris Involved in Heated Disagreement

F1 rivals Lando Norris and George Russell were involved in a fiery post-Qatar qualifying argument when carrying out media duties, but is all as it seems?

Qualifying had been a routine affair for Norris, who had placed second just behind his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who will lead the grid ahead of the penultimate race of the F1 calendar. Russell himself placed a respectable fourth on the Lusail International Circuit.

That came after a dominating drive by the pole-sitting Australian in the earlier Sprint Race, which cut Norris’ lead at the summit to just 22 points as he aims to catch up to his main adversary. The Drivers’ Championship drama is set to keep fans on the edge of their seats until its conclusion in Abu Dhabi on the 7th of December.

Beef Between Russell & Norris Post-Qualifying

While there is plenty of on-track drama to keep viewers engrossed, one place where conflict wasn’t expected was the media area, where Mercedes driver, Russell, interrupted Norris’ chat with journalists to confront the favourite for this year’s F1 World Drivers’ Championship.

For context, this altercation came off the back of suggestions that Norris was blaming his long-time friend for a moment on the track where he bailed on his attempt at the fastest lap in Q3. The McLaren driver’s plans were halted at the first corner with there being suggestions that the 26-year-old was holding Russell to account.

At the time, the Mercedes driver had been in proximity to Norris at the first turn, with gossip circulating that the championship leader was fuming with his fellow Brit over the role he seemingly played in his botched attempt at pole.

However, going off the conversation of the two drivers below, who exchanged words with each other at qualifying’s conclusion, the incident can be attributed to misinformation.

Video: Russell & Norris Heated Disagreement

“Mate, you told the media the reason you messed up Turn 1 was because of me?” asked Russell.

Norris replied with the following: “Who said that? We’re with the media, mate. All they do is spread bulls***. Can’t believe you believe them over me. It’s pretty disappointing.”

With Russell responding by adding that: “It sounded like something you would say, though.”

The whole war of words is unlikely to escalate into something akin to the Russell/Max Verstappen feud of the past; the Mercedes F1 driver confirming as much while speaking to Sky Sports F1.

George Russell Explains What Happened

Thankfully for many fans, it would seem as if Norris and Russell’s friendship remains intact. The Qatar Grand Prix gets underway on 30th of November at 16:00 GMT.