Christian Horner has defended Max Verstappen amid his row with George Russell Christian Horner has defended Max Verstappen amid his row with George Russell 
Red Bull chief Christian Horner backed Max Verstappen's denial of George Russell's allegations against the four-time world champion before the Qatar Grand Prix last week. (More Sports News)
Russell escalated his war of words with Verstappen on Thursday ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, calling the Dutchman a "bully" following a stewards meeting.
Verstappen claimed that Russell's conduct during a stewards' hearing in Qatar, which saw the Dutchman given a grid penalty, made him "lose all respect" for the Mercedes driver.
The British driver also accused the four-time world champion of threatening to put him “on your f*****g head in the wall”, a claim Verstappen told Dutch media was not true.
Verstappen stood by his stance that he found Russell’s attempts to get him a penalty in Qatar unacceptable, and Horner gave his view on the situation on Friday.
"Max does nothing but tell the truth, so I believe 100 per cent what he said to be accurate," Horner said. "Of course, there were other people in those steward rooms as well.
"They also came back and reported that they were quite surprised at the approach that was taken (by Russell)."
"The thing with Max… He tells you straight, tells you as it is. He never lies, always tells you the truth."
"A lot's been made of it. It's pantomime season," Horner added.
"We are getting ready for Christmas, so there's maybe an element of end of term blues there, but I don't think it will have any effect on the grand prix itself."
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