F1 NEWS: Russell and Verstappen row takes ugly turn as Wolff flips out at Horner

That's it for today's coverage ahead of this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Make sure to check back on Friday morning as race weekend gets underway.

Toto Wolff has claimed drivers should be punished for swearing behind the wheel.

On the ongoing debate in Formula One, he said: “I have a thing about the swearing. Like George said, he has an 8-year-old nephew who go-karts and watches all of that. I have a similar 7-year-old that go-karts, that watches everything. It's the first time a few months ago that he [Toto’s child] said, 'What the f***'? And I said, 'Where did you hear that from?' He said, 'From the drivers.'"

He added: “As a result, the Mercedes CEO has an opinion that is far different to many in the paddock regarding the swearing saga: "I have my conflicts with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem], but in that instance, the drivers, all drivers are role models and are on air.

Robert van Overdijk, director of the Dutch Grand Prix, claimed the decision to scrap the Dutch GP from the calendar in 2026 is a business one.

He said: “We are a privately owned and operated business, and we must balance the opportunities presented by continuing to host the event, against other risks and responsibilities.

"We have decided to go out on a high with two more incredible Dutch Grands Prix in 2025 and 2026."

Max Verstappen has backed rival Lewis Hamilton to succeed at Ferrari when he joins the Italian outfit next season.

Speaking to PA, he stated: "I don’t think he will ever lose it. He has achieved so much.

"It is a new challenge for him next year. He will be very, very motivated to show he is a seven-time world champion. But it will depend on the material he has got."

There's just the Constructors' Championship to be decided on the final weekend of the F1 season.

Here's how things stack up...

Here's the standings ahead of the final race...

1st - McLaren (640pts)

2nd - Ferrari (619pts)

3rd - Red Bull (581pts)

4th - Mercedes (446pts)

5th - Aston Martin (92pts)

The Dutch Grand Prix won't be involved on the Formula One calendar from 2026 onwards.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1, said: “I am incredibly grateful for the work that the team at the Dutch Grand Prix have done in recent years.

"They raised the bar for European Grands Prix in terms of event spectacle and entertainment, supported the development of young talent by hosting F2, F3 and our F1 ACADEMY series, and have also pioneered sustainable solutions that have inspired our events around the world as we drive towards being Net Zero by 2030.

“All parties positively collaborated to find a solution to extend the race, with many options, including alternation or annual events on the table, and we respect the decision from the promoter to finish its amazing run in 2026.”

Sergio Perez has reiterated his belief that he will drive for Red Bull in 2025, despite reports suggesting that the Milton Keynes squad have opted to move on from the Mexican at the end of the season.

“Nothing has changed since before in terms of what I've said for the entire year,” he said in Abu Dhabi. “I got a contract for next year and I will be driving for Red Bull next year.”

Asked if he was 100 per cent certain, he added: “I already said, mate, nothing further to add. I have a contract for next year, so nothing further to add.”

George Russell has revealed a touching tribute helmet, commemorating his three years alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the seven-time world champion's final race as a Mercedes driver as he prepares to move to Ferrari in 2025.

Lando Norris is keen to watch George Russell and Max Verstappen continueb squabbling - so long as it's in his rear-view mirror.

He said: "I hope it doesn't get smoothed out! I hope they stay fighting and arguing... it's amusing to watch!

"It depends... every other driver has their own way of doing things. I don't think Max tries to intimidate. Max just says the truth in his opinion. A lot of the time he just says the truth about things.

"People don't like to hear the truth nowadays in life. But he's honest and he just gives his opinion, and I'm completely fine with that. Sometimes I disagree with his opinion, sometimes I agree, but that's life. That's what happens in life, and we move on. I respect Max a lot, I respect George a lot, but I don't mind if they lose respect for one another."

Max Verstappen doubled down on his opinion of George Russell. This is not just a one-way argument.

“I never expected someone to actually try and get someone a penalty. He was lying about doing what I was doing, I hadn’t influenced him.

“It was really not nice and actually very shocking.”

Verstappen added: “I have no regrets at all, because I meant everything I said. And it is still the same, if I had to do it again maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race itself.

“I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in the stewards’ room - to me, that is so unacceptable.

“We’re all racing drivers and we all have a lot of respect for each other, we even play sports together, we travel together.

“Of course you have moments where you come together, crash or whatever and you’re not happy.

“But in my whole career I’ve never experienced what I experienced in the stewards’ room in Qatar and, for me, that was really unacceptable."

Toto Wolff has called Christian Horner a "yapping little terrier" and blasted the Red Bull chief for commenting on Max Vertsappen's feud with George Russell.

"I tell you clearly. There is a thing between drivers and this is George and Max and I don't want to get involved in that but if the other team principal calls George hysteric this is where he crosses a line for me," Wolff said.

"Now his forte for sure is not intellectual psychoanalysis but that's quite a world. How dare you, how dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver!"

George Russell has explained the altercation that Christian Horner referenced at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend, revealing a sensational threat from Max Verstappen.

"[It was] to me privately, yeah, straight out of the stewards. Russell said, 'I don't know why you would want to screw me like this, I'm so disappointed in you. I was going to not even race you tomorrow, I was going to let you by, but now if I have to, I will purposely go out of my way to put you on your f***ing head in the wall.' So, I mean... as I said, I don't understand why he was so unnecessarily aggressive and violent in that regard."

George Russell has revealed sensational details of his altercation with Max Verstappen at the Qatar Grand Prix after the Dutchman doubled down on criticism of the Mercedes man.

"I find it all quite ironic seeing as Saturday night he said he was going to purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and 'Put me on my fucking head in the wall'," he said.

"So to question somebody's integrity as a person, while saying comments like that the day before, I find is very ironic, and I'm not going to sit here and accept it. People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you can't question his driving abilities. But he cannot deal with adversity.

"Whenever anything has gone against him -- Jeddah '21, Brazil '21 -- he lashes out. Budapest this year, the very first race the car wasn't dominant, crashing into Lewis, slamming his team ... As I said, for me, those comments on Saturday night and Sunday were totally disrespectful and unnecessary."

"Because what happens on track, we fight hard, that's part of racing. What happens in the stewards' room, you fight hard, but it's never personal. But he's taken it too far now."

An emotional Lewis Hamilton has reflected on some of the best memories from his Mercedes career ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - his final race with the Silver Arrows.

"The smiles,” he replied when asked what he’ll miss most. "When we’ve had the success, those moments. I remember our first win in Australia in 2014, I remember our engineer being in tears on the podium.

“The emotions at Silverstone this year, all the good bits. We remember the good bits. Incredibly proud but so grateful to every single individual whose been supporting me since day one."

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that he was not privy to the fact that Alpine were leveraging Esteban Ocon’s participation in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi against him completing the final Grand Prix of the season.

"I don't know, honestly,” Komatsu explained. “Whatever happens in Alpine, it's got nothing to do with me internally. As far as I'm concerned, last time I spoke to Ollie [Oakes, Alpine team principal] about this, Ollie was happy that Esteban could drive for us in the post-season test, and he hasn't said anything different ever since.

"So if something changed, then I expect him to come to talk to me about it. But he hasn't. So he gave me his word. That was good enough for me."

Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, has explained the reasons behind Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in the ground effect era.

"If you look for a common theme, we have a car that is difficult to turn in the slower corners, and the way the drivers have to turn it is by sliding the rear on the way in and sliding the rear on the power on the way out,” he explained.

"That adds [tyre] temperature, and dealing with that problem Lewis has found quite difficult. You could argue that Lewis was head and shoulders the best in the previous set of regulations. He certainly found driving the cars second nature.

"Lewis would set up the car so that, as the [rear of the] car came up [during braking] and you gained pitch, it would help you turn the car, and he relied on those elements. And that was how you generated performance in the previous set of regulations.

"He has struggled more with the way these cars run. These cars you need to run lower, you need to run stiffer, they are banging into the ground more, you haven't got as much movement in the platform from low to high speed."

Jacques Villeneuve believes that while Colton Herta will be in the running for Cadillac’s 2026 F1 entry, Carlos Sainz would be the perfect signing for the American team.

“Originally a lot of the financial backing for the team involved contacts with Colton Herta the IndyCar driver,” Villeneuve told Spin Casino. “Colton has been sponsored by Dan Towriss, the CEO of Group 1001, the insurance group. Dan is also now the lead figure behind the General Motors entry into F1 as Andretti Global’s CEO.

“Herta was always the name being mentioned. All he needed was his super license. I am sure he is in the picture. An American driver in an American team would be huge for marketing. You also need an experienced driver in the other one, an experienced driver with talent which is not always the same thing.”

He continued: “For a team like this, Sainz is exactly the right type because he keeps helping teams build. That is why Williams took him and I am not sure they would be willing to let him go for 2026. I am sure the Cadillac team has already been inundated by calls from managers and drivers.

“They will all be saying. ‘I am the perfect one to help you build your team’. It won’t be easy for them because a driver with the necessary experience at a top team would not be happy just to be part of building a team. It would not be a first-choice destination for any of the top drivers.”

Jenson Button has shut down any conspiracy theories from F1 fans pertaining to Lewis Hamilton’s final season at Mercedes.

With the seven-time world champion struggling for form, many of his supporters have placed the blame on Toto Wolff and Mercedes, accusing them of deliberately giving the Brit inferior setups to team-mate George Russell.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, 2009 world champion Button said: “Just so the fans know, no team wants any of their drivers to be slow. Never want them to be slow. So, just so you know, Lewis Hamilton will be getting the same equipment.

“Sometimes teams will have a slight upgrade that goes on one car [over] the other, especially for the driver that’s staying. It’s the same for Checo Perez as well. They want them to be quick.”

Kevin Magnussen’s new job has been revealed - the 32-year-old will drive for BMW M Motorsport’s LMDh programme in 2025.

The legendary German constructor competes in both the World Endurance Championship and IMSA with their BMW M Hybrid V8 machine, although it is unclear which category Magnussen will be competing in next season.

“I am happy and proud to represent such an iconic motorsport brand as BMW in some of the world's most legendary races,” Magnussen said. “After ten years in Formula One, I am embarking on a new and exciting chapter, and I look forward to taking on the challenge in the most innovative and advanced sports cars in the history of endurance racing. 

“A huge thank you to BMW M Motorsport for this fantastic opportunity. I can hardly wait to start the preparations and look forward to kicking off the 2025 season with the rest of the team.”

Good morning and welcome to Express Sport's live F1 news blog. We'll keep you up to date with the latest storylines as the drivers roll in for media day at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.