F1 live Spanish Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri starts on pole ahead of McLaren teammate, Max Verstappen third
Australian Oscar Piastri is on pole for the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, holding a three-point lead in the drivers' championship.
Piastri's McLaren teammate Lando Norris starts alongside him, while defending world champion Max Verstappen lining up third.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll withdraws with an injury to his hand and wrist.
Follow the F1 Spanish Grand Prix on the ABC Sport live blog.
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ABC News
41 minutes ago
- ABC News
Max Verstappen addresses George Russell F1 incident as Canadian Grand Prix looms
Max Verstappen said that frustration caused "a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened", a day after he initially seemed unrepentant over his collision with George Russell at Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix. Before the collision, Verstappen had been asked by his Red Bull team to give up a place to Russell. It followed an earlier incident between the two drivers when Russell had tried to get past Verstappen, who went off the track. The race stewards ruled Verstappen had "suddenly accelerated" before the collision and Russell said it "felt very deliberate". The stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty which dropped him from fifth to 10th and left him 49 points off standings leader Oscar Piastri, who won Sunday's race. "We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tire choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened," Verstappen wrote on Instagram. "I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you (at the next race) in Montreal." Initially in the aftermath of the race, Verstappen had said that "next time I will bring a tissue", responding to Russell claiming he set a poor example for young drivers. Russell finished fourth. The collision followed a series of setbacks for Verstappen, who had been in third and pressuring the two McLaren drivers in front before the safety car came out. Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen into the pits for fresh tires, even though the only ones he had left were slower hard-compound tires, a type that no other driver used. At the restart, Verstappen lost grip and was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari made contact with Verstappen's Red Bull. Neither driver was ruled at fault for that. Verstappen then went off the track while defending against Russell and Red Bull asked Verstappen to give up the place to Russell, apparently because the team expected Verstappen would be given a penalty. The stewards later ruled they wouldn't have taken action against the Dutch driver for that incident. Verstappen needs to be careful in the next two races because the penalty for the collision with Russell also brought him penalty points on his licence, taking him to 11 in the last 12 months. Drivers get a one-race suspension if they hit 12 points in a year. Two of those points expire at the end of the month, but until then Verstappen needs to get through the Canadian and Austrian races without any further penalty points. AP
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Max Verstappen admits fault for ramming Mercedes driver George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen admitted on Monday that 'frustration' had led to him ramming Mercedes driver George Russell in the closing laps of an eventful Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen, who had initially blamed both Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Russell for causing the shunt, posted on social media that his action was 'inappropriate'. The incident happened shortly after racing restarted with five laps left following a safety car. Verstappen immediately lost third to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and then went off the track as he tried to hold off Russell's Mercedes. Verstappen's Red Bull team told their driver to hand the place to Russell, the Dutchman appeared about to do that as he slowed into turn five with two laps left. Instead he speared into the Mercedes. 'We were on a promising strategy and had a good race in Barcelona, until the safety car came out,' Verstappen wrote on Monday. 'Our tyre choice at the end of the race and some manoeuvres after the restart fed my frustration, leading to a manoeuvre that was inappropriate and shouldn't have happened 'I always give everything I have for the team and emotions can run high.' Stewards ruled he rammed Russell in the closing laps of an eventful Spanish Grand Prix. The incident happened shortly after racing restarted with five laps left following a safety car. Verstappen immediately lost third to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and then went off the track as he tried to hold off Russell's Mercedes. Verstappen's Red Bull team told their driver to hand the place to Russell, the Dutchman appeared about to do that as he slowed into turn five with two laps left. Instead he speared into the Mercedes. Stewards handed the Dutchman a 10-second penalty and he finished 10th. He said later that he was unhappy at the way Leclerc had passed him and Russell had tried to overtake. The 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg told British broadcaster Sky that Verstappen should have been disqualified. 'It looked like a very intentional retaliation,' Roseberg said. 'Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at turn one.' 'I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag.' After the race, Verstappen accused Leclerc of driving into him while overtaking and said Russell pushed him off track, forcing him to take to the escape road to retain fourth place. Verstappen did not deny that his move on Russell - with whom he was involved in a war of words last season - was deliberate. 'Does it matter?' he said. 'I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment.' Verstappen brushed aside talk of his defence of his drivers' title. 'We are way too slow anyway to fight for the title. I think that was clear again today,' he said. Asked by Sky whether his reputation being tarnished by the collisions and penalty, he said: 'Is it? Well that's your opinion. We will leave it there.' Russell said Verstappen's move remind him of video games. 'I was as surprised as you guys were,' he told reporters. 'I've seen these manoeuvres before on simulator games and in go-karting, but never in F1. 'Ultimately, we came home in P4 and he came home in P10. I don't know what was going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment so, yeah, it was a bit surprising. 'It is down to the stewards to decide if its deliberate or not. Max is such an amazing driver and so many people look up to him. It's a shame that something like that continues to occur. It seems totally unnecessary and it never seems to benefit himself.' Leclerc and Verstappen were both called to the stewards' office after the race to assist in more investigations into their collision.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Verstappen admits fault for Spain crash
F1: Max Verstappen has taken responsibility for his collision with George Russell in the Spanish Grand Prix, where he was called out for deliberately crashing into his Mercedes rival.
