The Mercedes driver enjoyed a stronger development in Saturday’s sprint race, entering Turn 1 in Baku from the inside of fourth-placed Verstappen, and the pair continued side by side until the corner of Turn 3. Exit on a left bend.

During their encounter, Russell and Verstappen collided at the apex of Turn 2, tearing a gash in the Red Bull’s left-hand box before the Dutchman backed away to avoid the wall.

That prompted defending champion Verstappen, who eventually reclaimed the sprint podium, to protest Russell at the parc ferme and call him a “fool”.

Russell said he thought Verstappen came over to praise the pair for their good fight, and that the Red Bull driver had plenty of time to wait before passing late in the race.

He said: “When he first came over, I thought he was going to say, ‘Well played, well played’. I was surprised that he was so angry.

“His position has been lost in my opinion, since I started karting at the age of eight, if you’re on the inside of the apex of the corner, that’s your corner.

“If drivers try to resist outside, they are taking a huge risk.

“On the first lap on the street circuit, I was really shocked that he was able to hold the position.

“But again, I’m here to fight, I’m here to win and I’m not going to wave him over just because he’s Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, fighting George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14 ahead of Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Photography: Simon Galloway/ motorsport pictures

Russell also told Sky Sports F1 that if the roles were reversed, leaving him on the outside for the opening sequence of the corner, he would step back to Verstappen. As a result of the impact, he hopes Verstappen has learned his lesson for future rolls of the dice.

“From my side, everything is going on,” he said. “If the roles were reversed, I’m sure he would do the same. It’s part of racing.

“We’re going to keep going, we’re the big boys, it’s Formula 1.

“On the first lap on the street circuit, I wouldn’t try to put it on the outside. The driver on the inside has already got the inside and the corner has been lost.

“As drivers we always say, if you want to overtake on the outside, you know the risk. Hopefully he learned the risk today.”

Russell continued to Sky: “He’s got a lot of Fs around him and stuff like that…

“He lost a lot more than I did. He could have waited a lap and passed me directly at their speed.

“I was ahead of him at the apex (Turn 1), very clean and smooth. It’s interesting how it lasts for three corners.”

Additional reporting by Adam Cooper