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Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Verstappen problem that F1 fails to acknowledge
For years, the Formula 1 paddock has been praising Max Verstappen – and rightfully so. Everyone is aware of his glorious achievements and his remarkable record. The Red Bull driver keeps amazing crowds with his talent – utterly dominating seasons, grabbing pole positions when his car shouldn't be in contention, winning races as a dark horse, or making unlikely overtaking moves stick. Verstappen's racecraft is exceptional. Just look at the way he snatched the lead from Oscar Piastri at the start of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – few drivers actually are able to achieve such a masterful move. It was audacious, confident, precise, clever – exactly the skills the Dutchman can use to get what he wants. Advertisement The thing is, there's a dark side to Verstappen. He doesn't even really conceal it, but many in the media, his team and his fanbase pretend not to be aware of it – or just ignore it. This dark side emerged again on Sunday under intense pressure. After his team asked him to let George Russell through in the Spanish GP, Verstappen slowed down until the Mercedes driver was alongside him, then reaccelerated to hit the Silver Arrow. No honest person can truthfully believe this was anything but deliberate; there is no doubt about it, no possible nuance. Yet, the stewards handled it by handing Verstappen a similar penalty to those given to good-faith racers accidentally causing collisions. A single occurrence of such a foul move is already a problem but could be forgiven; after all, Sebastian Vettel did cross a line when he intentionally collided with Lewis Hamilton in Baku in 2017, which led to a 10-second stop-go penalty. But this isn't the first time we've witnessed Verstappen's unsportsmanlike driving. Verstappen brake-tested Hamilton in a tense Saudi Arabian GP in 2021 – an uncouth attempt at taking his title rival out of the race – and repeatedly runs his rivals off the track, like Hamilton in the 2021 Brazilian GP or Lando Norris in the 2024 Mexico race. He doesn't mind losing places in the process, as long as his opponent loses more. Advertisement The governing bodies have undeniably failed to address how frequent and intentional Verstappen's behavior is, and they won't even connect the dots to call a spade 'a spade' – to call a deliberate move 'a deliberate move'. Whether they're ignoring it on purpose or through thoughtlessness, nobody knows. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images via Getty Images The stewards' decision regarding the clash with Russell at Barcelona left much unsaid: '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. Advertisement 'The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1.' It is standard terminology – though somewhat comical in this context – for stewards to refer to the 'car' instead of the driver, but that's besides the point: they decided not to draw the logical conclusion from their reasoning. Everything in Verstappen's driving shows he intended to hit Russell, so he should have been disciplined taking into account how serious such an act is in racing. One week prior, in Monaco, stewards established that Russell had 'deliberately' cut the chicane – which is unsportsmanlike but much less dangerous – and they had no qualms about cracking down on the Mercedes driver with a drive-through penalty instead of the usual five or 10 seconds. At Barcelona, the situation was crystal-clear, yet Verstappen got a standard penalty, more lenient than Russell's in Monaco. Well, not completely standard as he got three penalty points on his licence instead of two. Go figure. Advertisement Verstappen has always been an extremely polarizing character, ever since his high-profile F1 debut at just 17 years of age. Many believe – or pretend to – that's just due to his elbows-out racing style, viewed as a logical symptom of his hunger for victory. However, his actions often go far beyond 'hard but fair', and he obviously stands by them given the way he usually speaks post-race. Some will be keen to deem the Spanish GP incident a mere instance of briefly losing composure, yet it just adds to all previous episodes, when Verstappen didn't get the penalties he deserved. Surely the four-time world champion, who naturally is an extremely confident athlete, is aware – more or less consciously – that when he acts this way, he never loses out. Read Also: Why is it so difficult for F1 drivers to say they're sorry? When anger and desperation take over: F1's most controversial clashes Advertisement Penalties on a case-by-case basis have never solved the problem, as his senseless Barcelona move shows. Verstappen brilliantly makes the most of the system's grey areas when he deems it necessary or feels disrespected, taking things way beyond the limits. This is not about whether a move was completed with four wheels off the track, if a driver moved under braking or who was ahead at the apex. This is about colliding on purpose – unsportsmanlike behavior onboard 800kg cars reaching 200mph. The Verstappen problem is a serious one, and the governing bodies must now diligently address it. To read more articles visit our website.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Automotive
- First Post
Max Verstappen vs George Russell: World champion accused of 'deliberate' collision, now one point away from race ban
Mercedes driver George Russell has accused Formula One world champion Max Verstappen of deliberate crash during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen has now accumulated 11 penalty points in a 12-month period. read more Max Verstappen was penalised after colliding with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. Image: Reuters Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban after being punished for driving into Mercedes rival George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. In addition to a 10-second time penalty, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th, stewards handed Verstappen three penalty points on his super-licence. That took his tally to 11 for a 12-month period, with 12 points triggering a one-race ban. Two of those points expire at the end of June but there are two races before that. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Red Bull driver had clashed twice with Russell at the restart following a late safety car period at the Circuit de Catalunya. The pair made contact first at Turn One when Verstappen, who was defending fourth place on hard tyres against a rival on quicker softs, was pushed wide but stayed ahead. He was then told by Red Bull to hand back the place. Stewards noted Verstappen 'was clearly unhappy with his team's request. 'At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 (Verstappen) significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 (Russell) to overtake,' they added. 'However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63.' 'INTENTIONAL RETALIATION'? The incident, as well as an earlier clash with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, triggered accusations of road rage and a return to the 'Mad Max' days of old, before Verstappen's four world titles. 'It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn One,' said Mercedes' 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports television. 'That's something which is extremely unacceptable and 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.' McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second, watched a replay in the cool-down room and commented: 'I've done that before in Mario Kart.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russell told reporters he did not know what Verstappen was thinking. 'It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim (video) racing and i-racing and never have I seen it in a Formula One race so that was something new,' added the Briton. '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. 'It is something you see in go-karting but never in F1. It doesn't make sense to crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car and risk a penalty. And he could have come back to fight for the podium.' Verstappen, who had accused Leclerc of ramming into him, accepted the two had different opinions. 'I'll bring some tissues next time,' the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Metro
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Metro
Max Verstappen issues statement with F1 champion at risk of race ban
Max Verstappen is on the verge of receiving a one-race ban from Formula 1 following his controversial collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. In the final laps of Sunday's race, which was won by Oscar Piastri, the pair made contact at the safety car restart, with Verstappen subsequently cutting turn one. Red Bull asked the irate Dutchman to let Russell overtake him and initially he pulled aside at turn five, appearing to comply. But suddenly, Verstappen drove into the side of his rival's Mercedes, slightly damaging both cars before finally letting the Brit past. After the race, the four-time champion essentially confessed to deliberately causing the crash, with Russell and the rest of the grid left stunned by the incident. While initially bullish, Verstappen apologised for the incident on Monday morning via a statement on social media: 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. 'Our tyre 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. 'I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal.' Stewards immediately investigated the crash and quickly slapped Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty, dropping from fifth to 10th in the race result and costing him valuable points in the championship battle with Piastri and Lando Norris. Explaining their decision, they 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. We therefore imposed a 10 second time penalty on Car 1.' But the stewards also handed Verstappen three penalty points on his superlicence, bringing his tally up to 11 – if a driver receives 12 points over a 12-month period they will be handed a one-race ban. Fortunately for the Red Bull star, two of the points he's accumulated will expire soon, on June 30. More Trending Unfortunately for him, there are two more grand prix before the end of the month – Canada on June 15 and Austria on June 29 – one more point at either will see him suspended. 'You know, you can never guarantee anything,' Red Bull boss Christian Horner replied when asked if he was worried about his star driver getting a ban. 'I mean, he's just got to keep his nose clean in the next couple of races, and then the first points come off at the end of June.' On commentary duty for Sky Sports, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg, was left outraged by Verstappen's actions and immediately called for him to be disqualified from the race. 'Wow, that's bad bad bad. He just rammed him full on. You need to black flag him,' the German said. 'In Max's eyes he's 100 per cent in the right. 'Why are you telling me to do this, watch this I will show you what he did'. Slowed down and rammed into him which is even worse. To slow down and ram into another driver is pretty bad. 'That [penalty] is a very lenient one from my point of view. Remember Sebastian Vettel against Lewis Hamilton in Baku 2017. Vettel got a 10-second stop and go penalty for that incident back then. 'It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1. 'That's something which is extremely unacceptable and 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.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Spanish Grand Prix: McLaren on top but Lando Norris is still wary of Max Verstappen in F1 title race MORE: What Max Verstappen told Lewis Hamilton after Monaco qualifying clash MORE: Monaco Grand Prix: Plenty of horsepower in the car park as F1 stars enjoy working from home
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Russell feels Verstappen should have been disqualified at Spanish GP
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 — 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. '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. McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrates his victory (Bradley Collyer/PA) '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.'
Metro
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Metro
Will Max Verstappen get a race ban for deliberate George Russell crash?
Max Verstappen is on the verge of receiving a one-race ban from Formula 1 following his controversial collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. In the final laps of Sunday's race, which was won by Oscar Piastri, the pair made contact at the safety car restart, with Verstappen subsequently cutting turn one. Red Bull asked the irate Dutchman to let Russell overtake him and initially he pulled aside at turn five, appearing to comply. But suddenly, Verstappen drove into the side of his rival's Mercedes, slightly damaging both cars before finally letting the Brit past. After the race, the four-time champion essentially confessed to deliberately causing the crash, with Russell and the rest of the grid left stunned by the incident. Stewards immediately investigated the crash and quickly slapped Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty. This meant that he dropped from fifth to 10th in the race result, costing him valuable points in the championship battle with Piastri and Lando Norris. Explaining their decision, they 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. We therefore imposed a 10 second time penalty on Car 1.' However, the stewards also handed Verstappen three penalty points on his superlicence, bringing his tally up to 11. Crucially, if a driver receives 12 points over a 12-month period they will be handed a one-race ban. Fortunately for the Red Bull star, two of the points he's accumulated will expire soon on June 30. Unfortunately for him, there are two more grand prix before the end of the month – Canada on June 15 and Austria on June 29 – one more point at either will see him suspended. Since the penalty point system was introduced a decade ago, only one driver has received a race ban, namely former Haas star Kevin Magnussen last year. Max Verstappen was in no mood to discuss the incident post-race but appeared to confess that it was deliberate. Asked by Sky Sports whether the contact was intentional, the 27-year-old angrily replied: 'Does it matter?' Pushed again for an answer, he responded: 'Yeah, okay. That's great. I prefer to speak about the race rather than one single moment.' Read the full quotes and George Russell's reaction here. On commentary duty for Sky Sports, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg, was left outraged by Verstappen's actions and immediately called for him to be disqualified from the race. 'Wow, that's bad bad bad. He just rammed him full on. You need to black flag him,' the German said. 'Max was right in the first instance and then the team went against Max and caused him to boil over. The first one was George's fault because he went in too hot, oversteered out and tapped Max who then had to use the escape road. More Trending 'In Max's eyes he's 100 per cent in the right. 'Why are you telling me to do this, watch this I will show you what he did'. Slowed down and rammed into him which is even worse. To slow down and ram into another driver is pretty bad. 'That [penalty] is a very lenient one from my point of view. Remember Sebastian Vettel against Lewis Hamilton in Baku 2017. Vettel got a 10-second stop and go penalty for that incident back then. 'It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1. 'That's something which is extremely unacceptable and 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.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Spanish Grand Prix: McLaren on top but Lando Norris is still wary of Max Verstappen in F1 title race MORE: What Max Verstappen told Lewis Hamilton after Monaco qualifying clash MORE: Monaco Grand Prix: Plenty of horsepower in the car park as F1 stars enjoy working from home
