George Russell has not said a word about the journalist incident that dominated the Japanese Grand Prix build-up. According to analyst LawVS, he does not need to. In a new breakdown of Max Verstappen's decision to eject Guardian reporter Giles Richards from a Red Bull hospitality press session at Suzuka, LawVS argues that the Mercedes driver is the real beneficiary of a standoff he never had to start.
LawVS makes the case that Verstappen's volatile reaction handed Russell something his earlier verbal jabs could not produce on their own: credibility. Russell had spent parts of the 2025 season publicly needling Verstappen over his temperament, and was largely dismissed as theatrical. The Suzuka episode, the analyst argues, reshapes that narrative.
"It also hands George very valuable evidence that Max can be brought into fights off the track as well as fights on the track," LawVS said. "Russell's criticism at the time was easy for many people to scoff at because it looked really theatrical — but it certainly vindicates him about one of his points. Makes it look more credible, that Max has certain live wires that go off spectacularly if you touch them just so."
The analyst's second point is a tactical one. With the media now primed to probe any future Verstappen flashpoint, Russell is freed from the obligation of baiting him himself.
"Russell doesn't need to actually go Max anymore," LawVS argued. "In some ways, he can just allow the media pen to do that for him. He can then instead focus on the championship and focus on potentially what's going to be happening if Kimi Antonelli continues his upward trajectory, which is going to happen."
There is a strategic cost to Verstappen too, LawVS contends — and it extends well beyond the press room. The Dutchman has been arguably the most influential driver voice pressing the FIA for adjustments to the 2026 regulations, a campaign that culminated in the rule tweaks set to debut in Miami. By losing his temper with Richards, the analyst suggests, Verstappen risks weakening the very platform he has built.
"He may have weakened his own hand in the areas of Formula 1 where he actually has a point," LawVS said. "Verstappen, as we all know, he's been the loudest and most credible critic of the 2026 regulations and has been a key component in ensuring that changes are undertaken by the FIA. But the trouble is, moments like Suzuka, it makes it easier for critics of his to dismiss those interventions as nothing more than Max having a tantrum, another mood swing."
Richards himself emerged as an unlikely winner. The Guardian journalist, who was asked to leave a Red Bull hospitality session after trying to raise Verstappen's collision with Russell at Barcelona, subsequently wrote a column for his paper addressing the incident and received vocal backing from fellow journalists.
"I still admire Verstappen. I hope we can enjoy a better relationship in the future," Richards wrote. "Sometimes difficult, awkward questions have to be asked. That's the job that comes with the privilege of being a journalist."
What to watch next: whether Verstappen's regulation advocacy still carries paddock weight when the 2026 tweaks are tested in Miami, and whether Russell — now championship-hunting behind Antonelli — maintains his strategic silence on the feud.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/russell-silent-winner-verstappen-press-row-suzuka). Visit for full coverage.*
