Latest news with #NicoRosberg
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Max Verstappen takes blame for reckless crash that damages his own legacy
Max Verstappen's Instagram apology on Monday for his collision with George Russell in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, admitting the move was 'not right' and 'shouldn't have happened', was not before time. It was also, frankly, plain common sense on his part. There was simply no way Verstappen was going to be able to stick to the line he gave immediately after the race; that his move on Russell was a 'misjudgement'. In fact, the longer Verstappen stuck to that version of events, the worse it would have got. You only needed to watch the reactions of his fellow drivers on Sunday evening to see which way the wind was blowing; Lando Norris joking with Russell in the interview pen, telling the Mercedes driver: 'I can't believe you turned into Max like that! Crazy!' Norris joking in the green room, pre-podium ceremony, that he had done a similar move to Verstappen's '…in Mario Kart', causing Oscar Piastri to stifle a giggle. Russell saying it set a bad example to kids around the world. These are fellow professionals, not fans with laptops. They know what they saw. They were all clearly in agreement with Nico Rosberg, who called it immediately in commentary. 'He needs to get black flagged,' the 2016 world champion said bluntly of Verstappen. 'He just crashed into Russell on purpose just to prove a point. That was horrible. That did not look good. That's bad, bad, bad. That is seriously bad.' Nico Rosberg discusses the collision between Max Verstappen and George Russell. — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025 Even Toto Wolff, a man with whom Verstappen presumably wishes to maintain good relations, given he might one day seek a move to Mercedes, and vice-versa, with the Austrian continuing to court Verstappen, found it impossible to bite his tongue. 'This is road rage', Wolff said on Sky Sports F1 when asked about Verstappen's driving. 'He behaved like certain taxi drivers in Rome or Naples, who go crazy in traffic. I didn't understand what he wanted to do. He came out of Turn 4 without accelerating, I thought he had a problem with the car. Russell passed him, but then he came back to close the door on him.' 'If he did it out of anger,' added the Mercedes team principal, 'it's unacceptable. It almost seems like he wanted to let Russell pass and then follow suit, but I can't explain it. It's an out-of-control and dangerous attitude, without logic or respect.' Max Verstappen is told to let George Russell through and then the two collide! 😲 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025 Faced with the above, it was little wonder that Verstappen held his hands up on Monday. 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out,' the 27-year-old wrote on Instagram. '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.' The question now is what this latest act of petulance does to Verstappen's reputation. The Dutchman is already on thin ice. No one doubts his brilliance at the wheel. Verstappen is undoubtedly the quickest driver out there, and what he has managed to wring from his Red Bull over the last few years is nothing short of sensational. He is brilliant for the sport. But if there is a flaw in his make-up – some might consider it a strength – it is his uncompromising refusal to yield to anyone or anything. It is a trait he has in common with Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, two past champions with asterisks after their names. Verstappen has not (yet) done anything as dangerous as Senna on Alain Prost in 1989, or as dastardly as Schumacher on Damon Hill in 1994. But the rap sheet of transgressions is growing, and almost as bad is the petulance he shows even when he is clearly in the wrong. On Sunday night, Verstappen dismissed Russell's complaints out of hand, insisting he had 'no regrets', and adding sarcastically that he would 'bring some tissues next time' for Russell, a man he has previously called a 'crybaby' and a 'princess'. Verstappen's apology on Monday – if you can call it that, since there was no actual apology addressed to Russell – was at least a start. Verstappen mea culpas are, after all, rarer than hen's teeth. And he deserves credit for it, and so do Red Bull. They have often been criticised for enabling Verstappen's worst behaviours. In an interview with Telegraph Sport earlier this season, Hill – a man Verstappen accused last season of 'bias' – addressed this very issue rather well. 'I'm not anti-Max,' Hill insisted. 'This is the point. I think Max is brilliant. I like him. I mean what's not to like? He's sensational. But when I felt he overstepped the mark, I said so. And I think Red Bull have a responsibility, their team management has a responsibility, to the sport you know? If their driver goes over the limit on occasion, they have a responsibility to say: 'You can't do that.' And they don't. That's always been my issue with them. That they have almost given Max carte blanche and protected their driver from not sticking to the code, if you like.' Well, Verstappen has now taken responsibility for this particular incident. Belatedly, yes. But he has done it. It does not change what he did in the race on Sunday, which was egregious. But it is a start. If he wants to be remembered as a great champion, he needs to continue to learn from episodes such as this.
The Sun
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
‘What do you want me to say?' – Lewis Hamilton looks close to tears in live TV interview after ‘terrible' race
LEWIS HAMILTON looked as though he might burst into tears as he gave blunt answers in his post-race interview in Barcelona. The seven-time world champion tugged on heartstrings as he blamed himself for a 'terrible' performance at the Spanish Grand Prix. 3 3 3 Things were looking up for Hamilton after qualifying on Saturday, where he secured fifth - his joint best result. But soon into the race his teammate Charles Leclerc was snapping at his heels and he was told to give his place up to the Monegasque driver after just nine laps. It was a suckerpunch moment for the Brit who finished in sixth after Max Verstappen's 10-second time penalty. He had been overtaken by his old Mercedes teammate George Russell and, to rub more salt in the wounds, Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg. He said after the race: "Well what do you want me to say? I've had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day, 'There's nothing else to add to it. It was terrible. There's no point explaining it. It's not your fault. I just don't know what to say." When told whether the team can find some answers, he added: "I'm sure they won't - it was probably just me." Hamilton's former teammate Nico Rosberg said: "it's hard to watch" the Ferrari driver struggle. He added: "Sunday was a horrible day for him because he was just slow out there, which is very unusual, "Yes, sometimes he's off in qualifying but in races he's usually really awesome and the race was shockingly bad. "He doesn't have answers either. Was there damage on the floor? These floors are so sensitive and there can always be a bit there and you lose a lot of time. "When you don't have any answers, it's really tough as a driver then you see your team-mate race on their way to third place on the podium. In light of the whole season he's had so far, it's a very dark situation."
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Max Verstappen admits driving into George Russell was ‘not right' in apologetic Instagram post
Max Verstappen has appeared to accept the blame for crashing into George Russell late on at the Spanish Grand Prix, admitting that the incident 'shouldn't have happened'. The Red Bull driver collided with his rival's Mercedes after Verstappen had been advised by his team to give up his place to Russell on the third from last lap of the race. Following a safety-car restart, Verstappen ran off the track as he attempted to defend fourth position, before rejoining ahead of the British driver. Having slowed down at Turn 5 to seemingly allow Russell past, the four-time world champion accelerated to cause a collision. He would later give up his place before being hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards, demoting him to 10th. And while stopping short of apologising to his fellow driver, Verstappen has said that frustration got the better of him after a disappointing day at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out,' Verstappen said on Instagram. '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.' Verstappen also received three penalty points after the incident, leaving him just one point away from a race ban. 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg suggested on Sky Sports that the sanction was too lenient, suggesting that an immediate race disqualification should have been issued. Russell appeared to concur with Rosberg that Verstappen should have been given a stiffer punishment if the stewards deemed his actions intentional. 'If it was truly deliberate then absolutely, because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver,' Russell said. "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 1 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 1 drivers." Tensions have long simmered between Russell and Verstappen after a number of contentious crashes and other incidents in recent years. "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." After a weekend off, the F1 season will continue with the Canadian Grand Prix with race day in Montreal Sunday 15 June.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rosberg says Verstappen antics 'extremely unacceptable' as ban looms
Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg thinks Red Bull's Max Verstappen should have been disqualified from the Spanish Grand Prix after appearing to deliberately ram George Russell's Mercedes. The Dutch world champion was annoyed at having to let the Briton overtake him after a previous near collision, which Rosberg acknowledges was not Verstappen's fault. Advertisement But his decision to pretend to let Russell pass before speeding up and hitting the Mercedes caused a 10-second penalty and knocked him down from fifth to 10th. Rosberg believes he got off lightly with a "very lenient" punishment in Barcelona. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation," he told Sky Sports. "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." Advertisement A black flag means disqualification from the race being run. Verstappen may have avoided being thrown out of the Spanish Grand Prix but F1 bosses are bound to look again at his conduct. He also risks a possible future race ban because of the number of penalty points he has picked up in a 12-month period. He now has 11 and reaching 12 can trigger a suspension.
The Independent
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Max Verstappen risks race ban after Spanish GP crash penalty points
Max Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points on his FIA superlicence after colliding with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen's penalty points total is now 11, just one point away from triggering a race ban. The penalty stemmed from Verstappen's aggressive swerve into Russell's Mercedes after being instructed to cede fourth place, following an earlier incident with Charles Leclerc. Russell felt Verstappen's move was deliberate, while Nico Rosberg argued Verstappen should have been disqualified, but Verstappen refused to comment on the incident. Verstappen trails by 49 points in the championship standings and must avoid further penalties at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix to prevent a ban for the Austrian Grand Prix.
