At the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, they bla🐷med each other for a collision which forced bo🐬th drivers out of the race.

Tensions were especially fraught because then-Williams driver Russell was hoping to succeed Bottas at Merc🔥edes, which did eventually happen at the end of 2021.

"I did give him a phone call,” Russell told about the crash🎀 in Italy.

“He didn’t answer.

"My message was🍒: 'Give me a call when you have a moment'. 

🎃“But we've never spoken about that crash, ever. ꦜ;

“We've never spoken about me joi𝓡ning Mercedes. We've never spoken about any of that. 

“We often have norm🐽al chats with not a single ounce of awkwardness. I﷽t's just part of the business, part of the job and it's never personal."

Months after the crash, Mercede♒s confirmed that Russell would replace Bottas as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for 2022.

💎Russell and Bottas’ tetchy history dates back to 2020 when the young Brit was a one-race replacement for the unwell Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

Russell, driving a🐎 Mercedes for the first 𓆉time, overtook Bottas in a major sign of intent.

He later claimed it was one of the most important manoeuv🐼res of his career: "Because of how mu🐻ch that meant given the circumstances. 

“The fact I was trying to jump in that Mercedes, and there wasn't a better chan𝐆ce for me to prove what I could do."