Max Verstappen and George Russell had differing reactions to Jack Whitehall’s awkward joke during the F1 75 event.

The show – which celebrated the 75th anniversary of the championship while being the launch of the 2025 season – on Tuesday night saw the comedian tasked with hosting.

While fans got to see the newest cars for the upcoming season and the drivers answer questions from media, Whitehall enjoyed taking cheeky jibes at the athletes throughout the night, with one dig towards Verstappen and Russell garnering more attention than the rest.

The racing world was hit with a blockbuster saga involving the Red Bull and Mercedes stars in the final weeks of the 2024 season as they publicly clashed over on-track incidents.

The Dutchman, 27, said he “lost all respect” for the Brit, 27, when he was penalised for impeding Russell at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Russell hit back and suggested the four-time world champion “cannot deal with adversity”.

Due to the animosity between the pair, they were seated on opposite ends of the table during the annual end of season dinner involving all 20 drivers and that rivalry seemed to exist at the 02 Arena on Tuesday.

With the pair in attendance, Whitehall made a remark on their beef when speaking directly to Verstappen as he said:

“Cheer up Max, it could’ve been worse, we didn’t see you next to George Russell. Where is George? Have you two kissed and made up yet?”

The camera immediately cut to the champion who nodded with a slight smirk in response while Russell had a gleaming smile on his face.

Russell discussed the state of their relationship earlier that day and admitted that he “hadn’t spoken” to Verstappen over the winter break and said it’s likely the pair will never be friends again.”I’ve got no intentions [to], to be honest,” the Mercedes driver admitted to BBC Radio 5 Live.

“That happened last year. I want to focus on myself. Things got out of line last year. That was then. We are not going to go back to being best mates, that’s for sure.”

Both drivers have new team-mates this season with Russell lining up alongside Kimi Antonelli following Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

While Verstappen will be joined by Liam Lawson in Red Bull paddock after the departure of Sergio Perez.