Portugal Colonial - In-form Russell ready to get his elbows out against Verstappen

The 27-year-old Briton, who won last year's race and the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago, arrived at the Red Bull Ring insisting that he is only concerned with his own performance.

He described their summoning by the stewards in Montreal, after the race, because Red Bull had filed a protest alleging that Russell had deliberately braked when leading for Mercedes behind a safety car to try and cause Verstappen to pass him and be penalised as "pfaff".

The incident at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve led to more focus on their rivalry and revived stories of their spats in 2024 notably at the Qatar Grand Prix and in Spain this year when Verstappen drove into Russell's car.

"I think when you're racing against the best and you're racing against the most aggressive, you need to stand tall and make sure you have your elbows out and give as much as the opponent will give.

"That is sort of my approach when racing somebody of his calibre, but ultimately, I'm going about my own business.

"I am fighting for myself, my team, and if Max and I have come together a few times over the last six months, that's just the way it's panned out," he said.

Russell added that Red Bull's post-race protest against him in Canada was unjustified.

"It was nothing and it all came from Red Bull, as opposed to Max," he said.

"I don't think he was even aware of the protests.

"It was pretty clear that there was not going to be any penalty and my personal view is that they wanted to go and be offensive to protect Max, in case he got a penalty for going ahead of me during the Safety Car incident.

"My personal view is that it was just a bit of a pfaff and not really necessary."

Verstappen meanwhile was in feisty form at the pre-weekend press conference.

When it came to the tricky subject of his disciplinary record and his position, just a single penalty point away from a race ban, he was ultra-cautious.

- 'You're joking, right?' -

Asked to say if he felt racing in Formula One had become less natural due to the stringent execution of regulations, Verstappen declined to answer.

"I'm not going to comment on that - I can't risk getting a penalty point," he said.

The question was asked again, in various forms.

"You're joking, right? Is this a trap?" said Verstappen. "I'm getting this question every single time, every weekend."

Finally, he said: "I have nothing to add."

Verstappen had been put in this position when he drove into Russell's Mercedes at the Spanish Grand Prix, collecting a time penalty and three points on his racing drivers' 'superlicence'.

Ahead of Sunday's race, Verstappen has 11 points on his licence knowing 12 would trigger an automatic ban but also that he will see two points removed after the weekend.

He also said he had no intention of changing his normally aggressive driving style.

Given a chance to speak about his prospects this weekend, Verstappen insisted that he and Red Bull were not favourites, despite winning five times at the Red Bull Ring.

"I'm here to do the best I can. And, of course, I hope to be on the podium."

G.M.Castelo--PC