George Russell feels Max Verstappen should have been disqualified at Spanish GP
A processional race at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya – which was won by Oscar Piastri as he extended his championship advantage over second-placed Lando Norris from three points to 10 – came alive on lap 64 of 66 when a furious Verstappen and Russell came to blows.
Following a safety-car restart, Verstappen fell off the road as he attempted to defend fourth position from Russell.
He rejoined ahead of the Mercedes driver but was advised by his Red Bull team to concede the position.
Drama in the closing stages of the race! 😱
Max Verstappen drops to P10 following a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/anhkyJ92pk
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025
Verstappen slowed down at Turn 5 to allow Russell past, but then accelerated and drove into his rival's Mercedes.
'What the f***'?' Russell said on the radio. Verstappen later moved out of Russell's way, and crossed the line in fifth. However, he was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards – demoting him to 10th – and also punished with three penalty points on his licence which leaves him just one point away from a race ban.
In commentary for Sky Sports, Nico Rosberg said Verstappen's sanction was too lenient and that he should have been shown a black flag – an immediate disqualification.
And when the 2016 world champion's claim was put to Russell, the Englishman replied: 'If it was truly deliberate then absolutely, because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver.
'We are putting our lives on the line. We are fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days but we shouldn't take it for granted.
A post shared by George Russell (@georgerussell63)
'It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim racing and go-karts. I have never seen it in a Formula One race. It felt strange, bizarre and I really don't know what was going through his mind.
'It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but manoeuvres like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down, and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers.'
Responding to Russell's criticism, Verstappen said: 'Well, I'll bring some tissues next time.
'He has his view, I have my view. It's better not to comment. In life you shouldn't regret too many things. (I have) no regrets.'
Verstappen had just lost third place to Charles Leclerc after he opened the door to the Ferrari driver when he made a mistake on the exit of the final corner in a six-lap shootout to the flag following the deployment of a safety car.
Russell then attempted to sling his Mercedes underneath Verstappen's Red Bull at the first corner before the Dutchman took to the escape road and remained ahead of the Briton.
'Max, can you let Russell through, please?' said Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.
'What? I was ahead, mate. What the f***! He just ran me off the road.'
Explaining their decision to hit Verstappen with a 10-second penalty – which leaves him a distant 49 points adrift of Piastri in the championship – the stewards said: 'From the radio communications, it was clear that the driver of Car 1 (Verstappen) was asked by his team to 'give the position back' to Car 63 (Russell) for what they perceived to be an earlier breach by Car 1 for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage (in fact, we had later determined that we would take no further action in relation to that incident).
'The driver of Car 1 was clearly unhappy with his team's request to give the position back. At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 to overtake.
'However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63. The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Christian Horner details what Max Verstappen did after George Russell incident
Max Verstappen was involved in an extraordinary crash with George Russell late in the Spanish Grand Prix, only publicly admitting the following day that he had been in the wrong Christian Horner has said that Max Verstappen apologised to Red Bull colleagues for his clash with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. The drama unfolded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Verstappen seemed to deliberately barge into Russell's Mercedes in the dying stages of the race. After Charles Leclerc overtook the four-time Formula 1 champion, dropping him to fourth place following a late safety car, Verstappen was also barged into by Russell. He went off track and rejoined ahead of the Mercedes, furious at the contact. And his mood only worsened when his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told him to give up the spot. Red Bull feared he was going to get a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which led to an angry response from the driver. Although he initially looked like he was backing down, Verstappen then shockingly veered into Russell in what seemed like a deliberate move. The incident drew fierce backlash and resulted in Verstappen being slapped with three penalty points and a 10-second time penalty. Sign up to our free weekly F1 newsletter, Pit Lane Chronicle, by entering your email address below so that every new edition lands straight in your inbox! It sent Verstappen tumbling from podium contention to 10th place, dealing a heavy blow to his and Red Bull's title hopes. Championship leader Oscar Piastri won the race while Lando Norris was second behind him in the other McLaren. While Verstappen refrained from making a public apology post-race, he did acknowledge on social media that the incident "should not have happened". And team principal Horner, reflecting on the weekend in a social media post, said Verstappen had at least said sorry to his colleagues after the race. "Spain concludes the triple-header, and we depart Barcelona feeling frustrated that we didn't extract more from the race," Horner posted on Instagram. "As a team, we opted for the three-stop strategy, which was the superior approach, and it was only the safety car that caught us out. We wouldn't have been as close to Lando without the three-stopper. "The safety car emerged at the most inconvenient moment for our strategy; we had to decide whether to stay out on older tyres or risk it with a new set of hard tyres. Hindsight is always perfect, but we made the best decision at the time based on the information we had. "The outcome was frustrating as it seemed like an easy podium for Max and valuable championship points were within reach. Max apologised in the debrief for his incident with Russell. The safety car also impacted Yuki's race. He would've been very close, if not in the points; otherwise, if you consider the trajectory he was on. "But that's motor racing. It can change in an instant. It's one of the reasons why we are all so enthralled and enamoured with this sport. It was a challenging weekend, but we will be diligently working over the next weeks to make some set-up enhancements to the car and bounce back strong in Montreal."
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
DHL, Daimler Truck, hylane agree electric truck rental deal
BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - German logistics provider DHL has signed a partnership deal with Daimler Truck and commercial vehicle rental provider hylane GmbH to rent electric trucks for parcel transport, the companies said on Tuesday. Under the rental agreement, DHL will obtain 30 electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks via hylane and pay for kilometers driven, rather than purchasing the vehicles. The trucks are expected to be delivered by the end of the second quarter of 2026, the companies said in a statement. The Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 is a new battery-electric truck targeting the long-distance segment, which is responsible for two-thirds of all CO₂ emissions from heavy road freight transport in Europe, said Daimler Truck.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Max Verstappen ‘deserved black flag' for George Russell collision, says Johnny Herbert
Johnny Herbert believes Max Verstappen should have been disqualified from Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix as the fallout from the Dutchman's collision with George Russell continues. Verstappen deliberately drove into arch-rival Russell during the closing stages of Sunday's race. The Dutchman was given a 10-second time penalty, dropping him from fifth to tenth, and handed three penalty points on his FIA superlicence. He is now just one point away from a race ban. Nico Rosberg, the 2016 F1 world champion, said on commentary duties for Sky Sports F1 that Verstappen should have been disqualified and ex-F1 racer Herbert agreed with that assessment. 'I totally agree with Nico Rosberg -- Max Verstappen deserved a black flag and should have been disqualified,' Herbert said. 'There's a point where you have to be hard on the driver when there have been many of these types of incidents. Verstappen is the best driver on the track, with the best racecraft and judgement, but there is always a story with him. 'It's usually some kind of racing incident we all end up talking about with Verstappen, unfortunately. It was clear as day that Verstappen's move on George Russell was on purpose. He backed out at the right corner, where he could then attack and retake the place by driving into Russell. To me, that's overstepping the mark.' Herbert added that modern-day racing involving 'wheel-banging' needs to be stamped out by the stewards. "A black flag is something that could have been thought of by the stewards and the race director, you have to stop this wheel-banging type of racing,' Herbert said, in association with RoobetAlternatives. 'Anyone can go and crash into another car, it's totally wrong to purposely bang into a fellow driver. 'It's happened historically, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, with Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, and with Jacques Villeneuve too. In the 1997 incident, Schumacher was banned for the season. "For me, I'd like to think I was a hard and clean racer, and Verstappen can be that too, that collision overstepped the mark. I don't want to see it, nor do the drivers. 'That type of racing should not happen. If it does happen, the penalty should be harsher to stamp it out. It can't just be a 10-second penalty, otherwise you're treating it like any other racing incident." Herbert was dropped as an F1 race steward in January after being criticised by Verstappen's dad, Jos, for commenting on the Dutchman's driving style as a media pundit, alongside being an official. The 60-year-old was critical of Verstappen's driving style in Mexico last year, when the former British driver was part of the stewarding panel who dished out a 20-second penalty to the Red Bull driver. This incident prompted Jos to rebuke: 'I think a steward shouldn't talk to the press at all.' Herbert was then dropped by the FIA prior to the 2025 season due to the 'incompatibility' of his dual role. The next race of the 2025 season is the Canadian Grand Prix on 15 June.
