Following his clash with Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix, Russell suggested there was only one other driver in the world who would make a similar move: Dan Ticktum

George Russell has been criticised for his comments(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

George Russell has been criticised for his ‘unnecessary’ dig at Formula E driver Dan Ticktum. Following his on-track clash with Max Verstappen during the Spanish Grand Prix, Russell suggested during an interview that Ticktum was the only other driver in the world who would make a similar move.

Knightsbridge-born Ticktum, 26, was banned for two years during his formative years for deliberately driving into a rival under safety car conditions. The move all but ended any chance of him driving in F1 and he has carried the weight of a ‘bad boy’ image throughout his career and he is now a staple in Formula E.

But Ticktum, who returns to the track at FE’s Jakarta race on Saturday morning, has won fans over in recent times and is amassing a supportive base of people who are appreciative of his honest nature.

“My immediate reaction was, ‘what the f*** are you doing’ if I’m completely honest,” said Ticktum. “I just thought it was a bit unnecessary.

“I was just like, ‘why?’ It’s just such an unnecessary comment. I don’t know what he expected from it. I wasn’t in his head at the time. I didn’t hear how he said it and what was actually going on in his head.

“It might have been in a totally jokey way, or it could have been on the more malicious side and he was just trying to unearth something and get Dan Ticktum hate bandwagon riled up. I don’t know what his motives were.

Dan Ticktum has opened up on comments made by George Russell(Image: LAT Images for Formula E)

“Me and George, we’re very different personalities. He’s perfect for Mercedes, a big corporate brand, he says the right things all the time and is a bit of a ‘good boy’, let’s say. I’m obviously the opposite.

“I respect George massively for where he’s got to in his career and what he’s done. He’s made it, so I just thought the whole thing was a bit unnecessary.”

Ticktum first addressed the comments on his Instagram channel following a team night out in Shanghai, where he had just completed a successful weekend, which included his second-best finish ever in Formula E.

“I’d had three or four beers on that walk back to the hotel,” Ticktum admits. “I hadn’t had too much to the point where I was going to say something where I was going to get cancelled, I knew that.

Verstappen was penalised for this move on George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix(Image: Sky Sports F1)

“I was just a creative level of drunk, if that makes sense. I just thought this is a perfect time to do a little video on the way back to the hotel, so that’s what I did.

“It was one take and I just was like, yeah, I’m posting that, that’s fine. I thought I addressed it in a relatively good way and I stand by what I said about taking a liking to Max. He’s got quite polarising chat, but I think he’s f****** brilliant, I really do. I like Max a lot.

“I often say he’s probably the only guy in the world that would beat me more often than not. But yeah, the whole thing was just a bit unnecessary, and I don’t want to unearth it again. It’s done now and it’s time for everyone to move on, I think.”