George Russell stated that Max Verstappen`s contact with his car during the Spanish Grand Prix felt intentional and described the maneuver as “totally unnecessary.”
The collision between Verstappen and Russell occurred with three laps remaining while they were competing for fourth position. They made contact at Turn Five shortly after the Red Bull team had instructed Verstappen to allow Russell to pass him.
Race stewards subsequently issued Verstappen a 10-second time penalty for causing the incident, which dropped him from fifth to tenth place in the final standings. He also received three penalty points on his super licence, bringing him one point away from an automatic race ban.
“I was as surprised as anyone,” Russell told reporters. “I`ve seen actions like that before in simulation games or go-karting, but never in Formula 1. Ultimately, I finished in P4 and he finished in P10. I honestly don`t know what he was thinking. In the moment, it certainly felt deliberate, which was surprising.”
When Max Verstappen was questioned about whether the contact was intentional, he responded, “Does it matter? I prefer to talk about the race overall rather than focusing on one single moment.”
Red Bull had told Verstappen to let Russell regain the position following an earlier clash at the Safety Car restart. During that first incident at Turn One, their wheels touched, leading Verstappen to cut the chicane and maintain his position ahead of Russell.
Verstappen eventually allowed Russell through after their second collision, but former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg suggested the reigning champion should have been `black flagged` for his actions.
Asked if he agreed with Rosberg`s assessment, Russell replied, “It`s not my place to comment on that. Right now, my focus is on our own issues and improving the speed of our car. The Safety Car intervention did mix things up at the end. It`s up to the stewards to decide if it was intentional or not.”
Russell added, “Max is a phenomenal driver and a role model for many people. It`s just disappointing when something like this repeatedly occurs. It seems completely pointless and never seems to benefit him in the long run.”
Max Verstappen is currently 49 points behind the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, who secured victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Red Bull Boss Christian Horner`s Perspective
While Verstappen was reluctant to discuss the incidents with Russell, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested that the decision to give the position back to Russell influenced the subsequent contact at Turn 5.
Horner explained, “Based on recent precedents and incidents, it`s subjective, but we sought guidance from the FIA, essentially the referee. It seemed like a penalty was coming. Therefore, Max was instructed to give the place back, which he was obviously frustrated about. He felt he wasn`t given enough room and that George lacked full control.”
“After speaking with his engineer, he decided to yield the position at Turn 5, which resulted in contact between the cars,” Horner continued. “I haven`t had a chance to get Max`s side of the story yet, but the stewards evidently determined he caused the collision and imposed a 10-second penalty along with penalty points. This was very frustrating because it meant we only scored one point from an afternoon where a podium should have been easily achievable.”
Pundit Analysis of the Incident
Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg commented, “It appeared to be a highly intentional act of retaliation. Waiting for your opponent and driving into them, just as you felt they drove into you at Turn 1. That is something entirely unacceptable, and in my opinion, the rules would warrant a black flag. If you intentionally wait to hit your opponent, that constitutes a black flag.”
Anthony Davidson
Anthony Davidson stated, “I can`t understand why Max slowed down after Turn Four and then abruptly decided not to let him pass. It`s almost as if he thought, `no, I absolutely won`t let him by,` carried excessive speed into the corner – and he wasn`t out of control doing this – and dive-bombed the corner, hitting the Mercedes hard.”
“George immediately radioed in asking, `what on earth was that?` I believe it was deliberate, and I find that disappointing to witness. Up until that precise moment, I wouldn`t place any blame on Max.”
Naomi Schiff
Naomi Schiff offered her view: “I think this situation largely comes down to temperament. At one point, Max was informed he was on the hard tyre, and he was already annoyed about that. Then things didn`t go his way; the incident involving [Charles] Leclerc was not investigated, and Leclerc mentioned he moved towards Max, which increased his frustration. Subsequently, he felt Russell was at fault. When Max gets provoked, the `lion` emerges.”
