George Russell accused of ‘goading' Max Verstappen at Canadian Grand Prix
Christian Horner accused George Russell of 'goading' Max Verstappen into a race ban as tempers flared following a dramatic Canadian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris crashed into the back of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and the race ended under a safety car. Red Bull's Verstappen, who finished second, claimed over the team radio that eventual winner Russell had braked suddenly behind the safety car.
Red Bull boss Horner later lodged two formal protests against Russell following the incident between the Mercedes driver and reigning champion Verstappen. The first protest claimed Russell had driven erratically while there was a further protest relating to the proximity of Russell to the safety car.
Horner effectively accused Russell of brake-testing Verstappen, trying to 'goad' him into a penalty which would have triggered a one-race ban. The Dutchman has 11 penalty points on his licence following his collision with Russell in Barcelona last time out. Verstappen is on a disciplinary tightrope with any further misdemeanours putting him at risk of a race ban and Russell had claimed in the lead up to the race that drivers could target him.
Is this why Red Bull are protesting against George Russell's Canadian GP victory? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/SYgpOzdmDi
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 15, 2025
Horner claimed that Russell 'clearly looked for Max in his mirrors before braking very heavily' and also fell 'three times in excess of the permitted distance' behind the safety car.
Asked whether he thought Russell was trying to goad Verstappen into conceding a penalty, Horner replied: 'I think you could hear from George's press comments yesterday [regarding penalty points], his objective was reasonably clear.'
The stewards did not agree. Nearly five hours after the race finished, they finally confirmed Russell's victory, saying Red Bull's protests had been rejected on the grounds that his braking was reasonable and he had not acted in an unsportsmanlike manner.
Russell said he hopes Norris and Piastri will continue to throw away points to propel him into this season's world championship fight.
Russell won from pole position to claim his first triumph of the year and just the fourth of his career. The British driver has been one of the grid's standout performers this season, and his win in Montreal takes him to 62 points behind championship leader Piastri. Russell is 40 points behind Norris while runner-up Max Verstappen is 43 points off the championship pace.
'I don't know how both Max and I are so close to those two (Norris and Piastri) in the championship because McLaren clearly have the dominant car,' said Russell.
'I cannot imagine they will keep throwing away points in the manner that they are doing, but of course, we hope that continues to be the case.
'I don't foresee us getting in the championship fight through pure pace as Lando did last year. We will only be there if things like today continue to happen.'
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