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New York Times
an hour ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Max Verstappen's self-inflicted blow to his F1 title hopes undid so much brilliance
BARCELONA, Spain — In a year in which McLaren has emerged as Formula One's dominant team with a brilliant car and two outstanding drivers, Max Verstappen's efforts to stay in the hunt for the World Championship must be applauded. He produced magic at Imola two weeks ago to score an unlikely win, pulling off a stunning pass at the start on Oscar Piastri before controlling proceedings at the front. Even without the quickest car, he was staying in the fight. Advertisement And then in one moment as the Spanish Grand Prix neared its conclusion, Verstappen undid so much of that good work to not only damage his championship hopes, but also put himself on the verge of being banned for a race. Up until the final few laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Verstappen had been driving a very good race. Red Bull had been aggressive with a three-stop strategy, recognizing it couldn't beat McLaren for outright pace. Weaving through lapped traffic, he was keeping pressure on the leading McLarens of Piastri and Lando Norris. But when the safety car was called after Kimi Antonelli stopped because of a loss of engine pressure, Verstappen's race unravelled. First came the call to fit his Red Bull with hard tires in the pits, much to Verstappen's annoyance. 'Why the f—, what is this tire? Why are we on a hard?' he asked his race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase. Lambiase explained the hard was the only tire Red Bull had left, having used up the quicker soft and medium tires through the earlier strategy. The hard would be difficult to warm up and leave Verstappen exposed to the cars behind for the restart. Verstappen nearly lost control of his Red Bull through the final corner as the race returned to green, as Charles Leclerc went through with a brush of contact. Verstappen fumed on the radio he was 'rammed' by the Ferrari, with the incident going to a post-race investigation. Moments later, Verstappen ran wide at Turn 1 as George Russell dived up the inside and the pair made contact. The Red Bull took to the run-off area, but rejoined still ahead of Russell. It put Verstappen at risk of a penalty, prompting Lambiase to ask him to give the place back. The stewards said in the later penalty document that Verstappen was 'clearly unhappy' about being instructed to do this. Here is how the radio played out as Verstappen neared the end of Lap 63. Advertisement Lambiase: 'Max, can you let Russell through, please? Let Russell through.' Verstappen: 'What? I was ahead! Mate, what the f—?' Lambiase: 'My advice is to let him through.' Verstappen: 'Mate, I was ahead! He just rammed me off the road!' Lambiase: 'But that's the rules. That's the rules we have to play with. It's a shame, but that's the rules.' This season you can get closer to the F1 action by joining The Athletic's Formula 1 WhatsApp channel. Click here to join or search for The Athletic/F1 on your WhatsApp. Verstappen responded soon after exiting Turn 4 on the next lap, slowing to let Russell overtake on the outside — only to accelerate again nearing the apex and running into the side of Russell's car. Russell eventually overtook Verstappen going uphill to Turn 12, allowing him to secure fourth position at the checkered flag. But the Briton was left frustrated after the race about the move, saying he was 'crashed into' by Verstappen, a driver whose on-track conduct he has previously criticized for crossing the line. The relationship between the two was left particularly frosty after an exchange last year in Qatar, where Russell claimed Verstappen threatened to deliberately crash into him. Was this move deliberate? Russell certainly thought so. Verstappen himself referred to it as a 'misjudgment', but otherwise refused to elaborate on what had happened. He showed little sympathy for Russell. In response to Russell saying it could send the wrong message to young children watching, Verstappen simply said he would 'bring some tissues next time' — hardly the comments of a driver with any remorse. From the outside, it looked like a moment of madness from Verstappen, the red mist descending and his frustration boiling over. He has always kept his elbows out while racing, fiercely fighting to the limit and when battling for wins and championships, and often crossing the limit. He did so against Lewis Hamilton when fighting for the championship in 2021, notably playing a similar game to this in Saudi Arabia that year when he was instructed to cede position. Verstappen slowed dramatically and caused contact, but Hamilton still won the race. Advertisement Watching the incident in the cool-down room ahead of the podium, Norris joked: 'I've done that before… in Mario Kart!' when talking about the move. He seemed surprised this had been picked up by the microphones. When The Athletic mentioned the Mario Kart comment in the post-race news conference, Norris replied: 'Ummm… Oscar told me he had some interesting opinions on it, so I'm going to pass it over to him!' Sat alongside Norris, race winner Piastri admitted he didn't understand the full context of the incident. 'Obviously it was not exactly a small touch,' he said. 'I don't have that much more. But it didn't look great.' Norris then echoed Piastri's thoughts, adding: 'I don't think it's something for me to comment on for now.' Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff — who has previously held an interest in signing Verstappen and is friendly with the Dutchman's father — also seemed reluctant to say too much about the incident without being aware of the full context. He claimed he was unaware in the race that Verstappen had been told to give up the position, but didn't understand the motive overall. 'I mean, if it was road rage, which I can't imagine because it was too obvious, that is not good,' Wolff said. He called it 'just incomprehensible' but didn't want to pass judgment without hearing Verstappen's version of events (which, again, the reigning world champion did not want to share). 'Let's see what his arguments are,' Wolff concluded, before adding a few seconds later: 'It wasn't nice.' Uncertainty over Verstappen's motivations was also put forward by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner after the race. 'It's something that we'll discuss internally and look at,' Horner said. He instead focused on F1's controversial racing rules around Russell's move at Turn 1, and whether it would be better for race control to tell teams whether or not they should give a place back instead of leaving it to their discretion. On recent occasions when Verstappen has been in the spotlight for his on-track conduct, such as in Saudi Arabia this year or Mexico last year, Horner has arrived at his post-race press briefings with printed out telemetry or screenshots from onboard cameras to fight his driver's corner. This time, he simply said he was yet to speak to Verstappen due to the Dutchman's post-race media commitments and a stewards' call-up for what happened with Leclerc, which ultimately resulted in no further action. Viewing the footage of the Verstappen/Russell clash, it's hard to see this incident any differently to the stewards, who not only penalized Verstappen 10 seconds on the road but also handed him three penalty points — one of the biggest sanctions at their disposal — to take him up to 11 points for the past 12 months, just one shy of a race ban. The stewards also declared Verstappen would've been fine to keep the position ahead of Russell, because it was the Briton losing control in the Turn 1 clash that triggered their initial contact and Verstappen going off. Advertisement After Monaco, a weekend during which Red Bull struggled to get anywhere close to McLaren's performance at the front, Horner took solace in the fact Verstappen was only 25 points behind Piastri at the top of the championship, equivalent to just one race win. Had Verstappen not run into Russell and accepted fifth place, as frustrating as that might have been, the gap would have grown to 40 points. Now, it's 49, and there is the more serious threat of him being sidelined for a race should he get involved in even a minor incident in the coming rounds in Canada or Austria, which could sink his hopes altogether before we even reach the halfway point of the season. If he does not get any more points, two will drop off his license after June 30. But no more will come off until late October. That's how F1's rules work in such circumstances. The championship fight Verstappen has been clinging onto so brilliantly is suddenly slipping away. He has been flippant at times this year about his title chances, saying as recently as Thursday that he did not feel it was a serious battle against the McLarens because of their pace advantage. But actions like Sunday only hurt any slim hope he might have. And it was entirely self-inflicted.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Has Barcelona transfer target's gf confirmed incoming transfer?
The latest social media activity on the part of the girlfriend of Liverpool star Luis Díaz has sparked widespread chatter cross the fanbase of Barcelona on Sunday evening. This comes with many having interpreted a post on her official Instagram account as a farewell. Advertisement The name of winger Díaz has of course dominated the headlines in Barcelona for several weeks now. As much comes amid the widespread understanding that the Colombian has been identified as a leading summer transfer target on the part of the Blaugrana brass. In turn, it has piqued attentions throughout Catalunya's capital on Sunday, to see Gera Ponce – Díaz's girlfriend – post what could be viewed as a farewell to Liverpool. Taking to her official Instagram account, Ponce unveiled a photo of herself alongside Díaz's family, on the season's final day at Anfield. It was the accompanying caption, though, which set tongues wagging, as showcased in the screenshots below, courtesy of 'Barca Times' on 'X': Conor Laird – GSFN
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Piastri says Spanish win was just what he needed
BARCELONA, June 1 (Reuters) - Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said winning Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix was just what he needed after losing out to McLaren teammate Lando Norris over the previous two weekends. "It's been a great year and this weekend's been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for," said the Australian after his fifth win in nine races. "We executed everything we needed to when it counted and that's all you can ask for. The team gave me a great car once again. It's a lot of fun winning races at the moment." The victory, the seventh of the 24-year-old's career, stretched Piastri's lead over second-placed Norris to 10 points after the Briton reduced it to three with his triumph in Monaco last Sunday. Norris also finished second at Imola, the race before Monaco won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with Piastri third. The Australian led from pole position in Spain, the top slot on the grid secured by the biggest margin of the year so far, after also topping the practice times at the Circuit de Catalunya. "It's definitely up there," Piastri said when asked whether it was his strongest yet in Formula One. "I don't know if it's the best one, but certainly it's been a strong one. You know, it's pretty hard to complain with the results we've had this weekend. "Just the effort that's gone in, and analysing some of the things from last week that we could have done better - I think we turned it around very nicely and got back to the form we wanted to be on." Norris, winner of two races this year so far, said he did not feel he had lost anything. "I think Oscar drove a very good race today and had a good day yesterday. I had the pace to go with him but not enough to try and catch up and put him under threat," he said.
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Piastri wins wild Spanish Grand Prix after Mad Max penalised for meltdown
Unflustered by the chaos and late drama that was unfolding behind him, Australia's Oscar Piastri produced a faultless drive under intense pressure to win a wild Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday night and extend his lead in the Formula One world championship. Maintaining his cool after Max Verstappen completely lost his and went into meltdown on a baking hot day at the iconic Catalunya circuit in Barcelona, Piastri calmly held off his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to register his fifth win from the first nine rounds this year. In doing so, Piastri equalled the longstanding record for the most victories by an Australian driver in a single F1 season, which was set by the legendary Jack Brabham when he won his second world title in 1960, then equalled by Alan Jones when he claimed the championship in 1980. 'It has been a great year and this weekend has been exactly the kind of weekend I was looking for, we executed everything we needed to when it counted and that's all we could ask for,' Piastri said. 'The team gave me a great car once again, it's a lot of fun winning races at the moment and I've been enjoying it and I hope the team are too.' With 15 rounds remaining, Piastri still has a long way to go before he can potentially become the third Aussie to win the biggest prize in motorsport but so far, he's doing everything right. 'It was a great weekend overall,' he said. 'The overall pace was really good and we could turn it on when we needed to. I'm just very proud of the work we've done this weekend. 'It wasn't the best first practice and then we got our stuff together, it's a nice way to bounce back from Monaco, it's been a superb weekend.' With his first victory in Spain and the seventh overall of his F1 career, Piastri took his points tally for the 2025 season to 186, 10 clear of Norris (176), who is starting to loom as his only real threat for the drivers' title after Verstappen (137) plummeted 49 points behind after being handed a 10-second penalty for colliding with George Russell. Norris finished second in Spain to limit the ground he lost to Piastri after he had closed the margin to three points by winning on the narrow streets of Monaco last week. 'Oscar drove a very good race. I didn't quite have the pace to match him,' Norris said. 'We gave it our best shot. It's a long race, anything could have happened at the end of the race. 'We both got pretty sideways with the safety car restart. It was a good, fun race and for us as a team to finish one-two is even better. 'It's been a good weekend. I lost out to the better guy this weekend. 'I know where I need to improve, I know what I need to do better. I feel confident that I can do it but, yeah, can't win them all, as much as I want to. It takes time to progress and that's what I'm working on.' For the second week in a row, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc got himself on the podium after he crossed the line third, despite making contact with Verstappen's Red Bull when the race was restarted after Kimi Antonelli drove off the track and into the gravel in the closing laps, causing a yellow flag. 'Max wanted to bring me towards the inside where there was all the rubber, so I didn't want to go there,' Leclerc said. 'I was trying to push him to the left, there was a little bit of contact. Fortunately, for us there were no consequences.' There were repercussions however when a furious Verstappen twice collided with Russell. Ordered by his engineers to let the Englishman past in his Mercedes, the four-time world champion finished fifth but was demoted to 10th after the stewards took a dim view of his actions and imposed a penalty for the race and later docked three points off his driving licence, putting him at risk of a one-race ban if he reoffends. Former world champion Nico Rosberg, commenting on television, said Verstappen was lucky not to have been disqualified. '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,' Rosberg said. '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.' Russell was unimpressed by Verstappen's behaviour and said he was also surprised that the Dutchman only got a 10-second penalty. 'I've seen the manoeuvres before on simulator games and go karting but never in F1,' Russell said. '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, seems totally unnecessary and never seems to benefit himself.' Verstappen declined to talk about the incident after the race, saying: 'Does it matter? I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment. 'We are way too slow any way to fight for the title, I think that was clear again.' Apart from a brief period when he pitted for the first time, Piastri comfortably led the 66-lap race from the moment he made a perfect getaway from pole position. Managing his tyres on the tricky circuit, he maintained a comfortable lead throughout the race even though his advantage got wiped away when the safety car was deployed after Antonelli's engine failed and the field closed up for what amounted to a six-lap sprint to the chequered flag. Norris did push Piastri hard at the restart before the 24-year-old Melburnian broke free of the DRS zone and surged ahead to join Jones (1980) and Mark Webber (2010) as the only Aussies to win the Spanish Grand Prix. 'My restart was OK from a time point of view,' Piastri said. 'I'm not sure my rear tyres were very happy though, I think I was wheel-spinning in sixth gear so not the cleanest of restarts but it was good enough. 'Just getting used to how much grip there was on low fuel, it was like being back in qualifying so that was a bit of an adjustment, but very well managed.' The next race is in Canada in two weeks' time.
CNA
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- CNA
Verstappen one point from a race ban after clash with Russell
BARCELONA :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. 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." 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.
