George Russell Claims Max Verstappen Threatened Him At Qatar GP

Things are getting quite spicy in Formula One ... with Mercedes driver George Russell claiming four-time champion Max Verstappen threatened him at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The beef between the two drivers reached new heights last weekend ... after the Red Bull superstar received a one-place grid penalty for interfering with Russell in qualifying.

27-year-old Verstappen said he lost respect for Russell over the whole ordeal ... accusing the 26-year-old of being fake for lobbying for the punishment in a meeting with the stewards, but acting all buddy-buddy with him in public.

The British driver didn't take the criticism lightly, though ... firing back when talking to reporters ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix -- even referring to Verstappen as a bully.

"I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he said he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and 'put me on my f***ing head in the wall,'" Russell said.

"So to question somebody's integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before, I find is very ironic, and I'm not going to sit here and accept it."

Russell listed off several instances of Verstappen lashing out when things haven't gone his way ... saying it just goes to show even though he's talented behind the wheel, he struggles to cope with hardships.

"People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you can't question his driving abilities. But he cannot deal with adversity."

As for his stance in the stewards' meeting, Russell said it was nothing personal ... and Verstappen crossed the line with how he reacted.

Russell added he would have been happy to keep their differences private ... but after Verstappen's public comments, he had no choice but to defend himself.

It's not just the drivers going at it -- Mercedes honcho Toto Wolff also had words for Christian Horner ... calling the Red Bull principal a "yapping little terrier" for criticizing Russell last weekend.