Race ban would be his own fault, Russell warns Verstappen
The Briton, who clashed with the four-time world champion last season and again at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, said he believed the Dutchman had attempted to scare him when he rammed his Red Bull into Russell's Mercedes.
"He was trying to run me off the road," said Russell, speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
"I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it.
"Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was all just a bit surprising. I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him -- and they benefitted me. So I should be almost thanking him!
"Obviously, I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race, but it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that."
Verstappen avoided talking about the incident after the race, but admitted on social media 24 hours later that he had done something that should not have happened.
He was penalised and dropped from fifth to 10th and was also given a three-point penalty on his driving super-licence, taking him to 11 points.
If he reaches 12 in the next two races he will be given a one-race ban.
"It wouldn't be unjust," said Russell. "At the end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points and get punished with a race ban.
"You've got it in your own hands and it doesn't go without risk."
Russell added that he did not expect Verstappen to change his aggressive style.
"I don't think so, but it depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? When you are going for a championship, it's slightly different.
"That's why I believe he wasn't intentionally trying to crash into me. He was just trying to get his elbows out and show who's boss, but he got that wrong –- Jos (Verstappen's father) is the boss!'
Russell said he had briefly spoken to Verstappen since their clash, but they did not talk about the incident.
"We bumped into each other at the airport on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros. To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his new-born and we were at the security machine.
"We just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Verstappen on top in opening Canadian GP practice after Leclerc crashes
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has won the last three Canadian races, clocked a fastest lap time in one minute and 13.193 seconds to outpace Alex Albon by 0.039 seconds -- after Charles Leclerc crashed in his Ferrari. The session was red-flagged and delayed following Leclerc's accident, in which he was unhurt, but it was a grim early blow for the under-scrutiny Ferrari team following a disappointing start to the season. It was the first time this year that Verstappen has topped a practice session. As the championship-leading McLarens worked on progression with an update package, Carlos Sainz was third in the second Williams, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. Isack Hadjar was sixth for Racing Bulls ahead of Lando Norris in his McLaren, Liam Lawson in the second Racing Bull and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. Leclerc was 10th fastest before his crash. The session was run in mild conditions on a 'green' and dirty track with Haas marking their 200th race weekend by returning to their original livery and Yuki Tsunoda hoping for a boost in form for his 100th race. McLaren were one of the few teams to bring upgrades –- front wing and suspension -- to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where a packed Friday crowd generated plenty of atmosphere. After an early yellow flag when Franco Colapinto spun on his first flying lap, Hamilton briefly topped the times before Verstappen took control, grumbling as he did so that "my steering wheel feels heavy". Ten minutes later, Ferrari suffered a serious early blow when Leclerc, who had gone top, went off at Turn Four, his car sliding into the barriers. "Sorry," said the Monegasque driver. "I'm in the wall. I should have gone straight on." He was unhurt, but his Ferrari suffered serious front end damage. Amid all the speculation about the team's loss of form and the future of team boss Fred Vasseur, this was not the start they needed. After an eight-minute red flag break, Russell re-started the action which continued to provide unexpected thrills as drivers grappled with the conditions –- caused mainly by the circuit's lack of use for the rest of the year. In this period, Russell, Norris and then Hamilton all had twitchy moments or spins before Verstappen, chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Canadian win, clocked 1:13.863 to regain the initiative ahead of Leclerc and Russell. Gradually, the track conditions improved permitting Russell to go top in 1:13.535 while Nico Hulkenberg 'kissed' the 'wall of champions' so faintly it was indiscernible before Sainz and then Verstappen trimmed the top lap time again. The Dutchman then went so close to the wall that the circuit recorded the gap as -0 cms. Hulkenberg was within 0.4 cms according to the circuit TV graphic -– enough to avoid trouble in a relatively straightforward session on an improving track.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Race ban would be his own fault, Russell warns Verstappen
The Briton, who clashed with the four-time world champion last season and again at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, said he believed the Dutchman had attempted to scare him when he rammed his Red Bull into Russell's Mercedes. "He was trying to run me off the road," said Russell, speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. "I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. "Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was all just a bit surprising. I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him -- and they benefitted me. So I should be almost thanking him! "Obviously, I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race, but it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that." Verstappen avoided talking about the incident after the race, but admitted on social media 24 hours later that he had done something that should not have happened. He was penalised and dropped from fifth to 10th and was also given a three-point penalty on his driving super-licence, taking him to 11 points. If he reaches 12 in the next two races he will be given a one-race ban. "It wouldn't be unjust," said Russell. "At the end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points and get punished with a race ban. "You've got it in your own hands and it doesn't go without risk." Russell added that he did not expect Verstappen to change his aggressive style. "I don't think so, but it depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? When you are going for a championship, it's slightly different. "That's why I believe he wasn't intentionally trying to crash into me. He was just trying to get his elbows out and show who's boss, but he got that wrong –- Jos (Verstappen's father) is the boss!' Russell said he had briefly spoken to Verstappen since their clash, but they did not talk about the incident. "We bumped into each other at the airport on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros. To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his new-born and we were at the security machine. "We just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine."
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Hamilton slams Italian media speculation on Ferrari and Vasseur
The seven-time world champion asked reporters to "stop making stuff up" as he delivered an impassioned response to the reports on the eve of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, an event he has won a record-equalling seven times. "To everyone that's writing stories of me considering not racing, I've literally only just started with Ferrari," he said during a news conference at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "I'm here for several years. I'm here for the long haul so there's no question about where my head's at and what I'm working towards achieving with this team. "There are zero doubts so, please, stop making up stuff." Italian media stories had suggested Vasseur was responsible for the team's disappointing start to the season when they had been expected to challenge McLaren for the championship. After nine races, with Hamilton, 40, brought in as a marquee signing to lead a title bid, the team languish 197 points behind McLaren in the teams' title race while Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are winless in a drivers' championship led by the two McLaren drivers. Hamilton said: "I was made aware of this just before I got here so I've not read the stories and it's definitely not nice to hear that there are stories like that out there. "Firstly, I love working with Fred. Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and I got the opportunity to be here, for which I'm forever grateful, and we're in this together. "We're working hard in the background. Things aren't perfect, but for me, as I've said, I'm here to work with the team, but also with Fred. "I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top. So this, ultimately, is nonsense what people have written." Vasseur exit 'not on cards' When asked about the possible exit of Vasseur, he added: "I don't think that's on the cards as far as I'm aware and it's certainly not something I would be supportive of. "Embedding new people, new personnel, whether it's a driver, or whether it's engineers or people who run an organisation, it takes time to adjust and the impact that has is significant. "So that's not part of the discussion. I'm here to win with Fred and he has my full support." Earlier, Carlos Sainz, the driver Hamilton replaced at Ferrari, had also launched a strong defence of Vasseur and, like Hamilton, blamed the media for stirring up a crisis that did not exist. "Same story as always, the moment that the results don't click in Ferrari, there's always finger-pointing by the media, and all this chaos happening," said Sainz, who now races for the rapidly improving Williams team. He added that despite being replaced in the team, he had no ill will towards Ferrari or Vasseur. "If you ask me, about Fred, well I have a great relationship with him. Obviously, we went through a tough month where he didn't want me and he signed Lewis, but apart from that, we made peace."
