Latest news with #GeorgeRussell
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Track rage? Verstappen penalized for collision with Russell at Spanish GP
MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — Max Verstappen dealt his Formula 1 title defense a self-inflicted blow at Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix when he collided with George Russell's Mercedes, in a move which Russell later said appeared to be 'deliberate.' Verstappen had been ordered by his Red Bull team to cede position to Russell — in hopes of avoiding a minor penalty — after he had driven beyond the track limits so he could defend his position late in the race. The Dutchman slowed to let Russell pass, but as Russell did so Verstappen's car collided with the side of the Silver Arrow. Race stewards ruled that the 'collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions' of Verstappen and slapped him with a 10-second penalty. That sent him tumbling down the race standings to 10th place, after he crossed the finish line fifth. 'It felt very deliberate, to be honest,' Russell told reporters. 'It is something I have … never (seen) before in a Formula 1 race. 'It is a bit of a shame because Max is clearly one of the best in the world, but maneuvers like that are totally unnecessary and let him down. And it is shame for the kids looking up and aspiring to be Formula One drivers.' Tissue time Verstappen was unrepentant. 'Next time I will bring a tissue,' Verstappen replied when told about Russell's comment on him not being a good example for aspiring drivers. The four-time defending champion wouldn't go into what he thought happened, adding that Russell 'has his view, I have my view.' Other drivers commented on the incident. Lando Norris, who finished second behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, was taken back by the move when he watched it on a video monitor while cooling down. 'I've done that before ... on Mario Kart,' Norris quipped, comparing the collision to the popular video game of zany, action-packed racing. Verstappen undone by late safety car Verstappen was running third and looked to be in a strong position to at least challenge Norris for second place until Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes slid into the gravel and caused a safety car to come out. The McLarens went in quickly to get new, faster tires, but Verstappen had already made an extra pit stop and so didn't have any soft- or medium-compound tires left. So his team slapped on some hard-compound tires, which are slower and better for long runs, not the five laps remaining after the restart. Verstappen said he felt like a sitting duck and was quickly overtaken by Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari and then Russell. 'I think up until then it was looking quite good for us,' Verstappen said. 'We didn't have, of course, the pace of the McLarens, but with that three stop, it still looked quite racy out there, putting them at least a little bit on the pressure in a way that they had to push.' After taking just one point from the race, Verstappen was left 49 points adrift of Piastri in the overall standings. ___ AP auto racing:
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Verstappen one point from a race ban after clash with Russell
BARCELONA, June 1 (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. 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." 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. "I'll bring some tissues next time," the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Spanish Grand Prix: Submit your questions for our F1 mailbag
Oscar Piastri dominated the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, but all the post-race chat was about Max Verstappen's clashes with Mercedes driver George Russell. The Red Bull driver had put McLaren under pressure with an attacking three-stop strategy, but was undone first by the timing of the late safety car period and then having to save a huge moment at the late restart when running hard tires with the rest on the faster softs. After this, Charles Leclerc pounced, made brief contact with Verstappen and then it all kicked off with Russell afterwards. What questions do you have for our F1 writers? And what did you think of the race? Ask and tell us below, and we'll do our best to respond in our weekly mailbag. Alex Kalinauckas
CNA
3 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.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Verstappen punished after ramming into Russell
Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen competes during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, on the outskirts of Barcelona, on June 1, 2025. (Pierre-Philippe MARCOU) Max Verstappen clattered into a fresh controversy on Sunday when stewards ruled he rammed rival George Russell in the closing laps of an eventful Spanish Grand Prix. The incident happened shortly after racing restarted with five laps left following a safety car. Verstappen immediately lost third to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and then went off the track as he tried to hold off Russell's Mercedes. Advertisement Verstappen's Red Bull team told their driver to hand the place to Russell, the Dutchman appeared about to do that as he slowed into turn five with two laps left. Instead he speared into the Mercedes. Stewards handed the Dutchman a 10-second penalty and he finished 10th. He said later that he was unhappy at the way Leclerc had passed him and Russell had tried to overtake. The 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg told British broadcaster Sky that Verstappen should have been disqualified. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation," Roseberg said. "Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at turn one." Advertisement "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." After the race, Verstappen accused Leclerc of driving into him while overtaking and said Russell pushed him off track, forcing him to take to the escape road to retain fourth place. Verstappen did not deny that his move on Russell – with whom he was involved in a war of words last season – was deliberate. "Does it matter?" he said. "I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment." Verstappen brushed aside talk of his defence of his drivers' title. Advertisement "We are way too slow anyway to fight for the title. I think that was clear again today," he said. Asked by Sky whether his reputation being tarnished by the collisions and penalty, he said: "Is it? Well that's your opinion. We will leave it there." Russell said Verstappen's move remind him of video games. "I was as surprised as you guys were," he told reporters. "I've seen these manoeuvres before on simulator games and in go-karting, but never in F1. "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. Advertisement "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. It seems totally unnecessary and it never seems to benefit himself." Leclerc and Verstappen were both called to the stewards' office after the race to assist in more investigations into their collision. str/pb/dmc
