Max Verstappen and George Russell's declaration of war on each other, through their actions and words, cements their emerging rivalry as Formula 1’s biggest.

There has been needle between them before, but now the ill-feeling is on another level: real off-track bitterness to follow the on-track competition.

Verstappen was livid with Russell’s conduct in the stewards’ room in Qatar, expressing his fury with no restraint next day after winning the grand prix – and standing by those comments four days later in Abu Dhabi. He even said he might have gone even further had he known he would win.

Russell, who took a dim view of that personally and professionally, has responded with some verbal firepower of his own. He called Verstappen out for bullying other drivers, identified him as vulnerable off the back of some mistakes this season, and made it clear he would not back away from this fight.

"He's the biggest, most successful guy in the sport from the last couple of years," said Russell. "He can do what he wants in his own business, but when he starts throwing comments around like he did on Sunday night about me, I'm not just going to sit here and accept that."

It was perhaps inevitable that Verstappen would eventually find himself properly head-to-head like this with a driver of his generation. His battle with Lewis Hamilton was astonishing at its peak, but ultimately shortlived. Charles Leclerc offered a fierce fight but has lacked the machinery to sustain it. Lando Norris plays a bit too nice on the track and off it.

Mercedes’ form means there has to be a question mark over whether Russell will get the season-long, championship fight against Verstappen he craves anytime soon. But any time these two do end up on track together now will be dynamite. And it makes the prospect of a title battle even more tantalising than it would have been.

Russell’s Abu Dhabi comments to a small group of journalists including my colleague at The Race Edd Straw were clear, measured and controlled – but also emphatic and forceful.

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"It can't just keep going on like that," said Russell.

"For me, it's interesting this whole regard with him and his own team. They're doing their utmost to get [Christian] Horner out of Red Bull.

"But, at the very first race that he wasn't competitive, he was absolutely slamming his team. And I know for a fact the week after a quarter of his engineering team were sending their CVs to Mercedes, to McLaren, to Aston.

"I don't respect somebody who doesn't appreciate those who have given them the chance to perform, because in these last 12 races, he has had a car that is of normal competitiveness. And he's been in the fight the same way as myself, Lewis, Charles, Carlos [Sainz], Lando, [Oscar] Piastri have been."

It was not a move designed to make peace. It was an act of aggression, just like Verstappen lining up on the Qatar grid angled more towards Russell’s Mercedes, his decisive dive into the first corner, and his biting criticism of Russell’s conduct afterwards.

It creates an unexpected tension heading into the final weekend of the year – how will Verstappen respond? What happens if they battle on track here? And while the winter will take the edge off the matter, the acrimony this bakes into the relationship will not be quickly resolved.

It is rare for such personal grievance to underpin a racing rivalry, but that is what is emerging now.