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New Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Max Verstappen admits George Russell incident 'not right'
LONDON: Max Verstappen admitted yesterday that his controversial collision with George Russell in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix was "not right and shouldn't have happened." Verstappen, the four-time defending Formula 1 champion, stopped short of apologizing for the incident that earned him a 10-second penalty and dropped him to 10th place in Barcelona. Late in the race, Verstappen initially objected to his Red Bull Racing team's order to allow Mercedes' Russell to swap positions after a tire change. After allowing Russell to pass, Verstappen accelerated heading into a turn and caused a collision. Race stewards deemed Verstappen was entirely at fault, penalized him 10 seconds and also added three penalty points to his super license. The 27-year-old Dutch driver now has 11 points, one short of the maximum allowed in a 12-month period before warranting an automatic one-race suspension. Russell agreed with the stewards' decision, calling Verstappen's move was "very deliberate." "It's something that I've seen numerous times in sim racing and on iRacing. Never have I seen it in a Formula 1 race," Russell told reporters post-race. Verstappen, who crossed the finish line fifth prior to receiving the penalty, issued his comments on Monday on Instagram. "Some moves after the safety car restart fueled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened," he wrote. "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 next race)." Oscar Piastri won Sunday's race with McLaren teammate Lando Norris finishing second and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third.
ABC News
a day ago
- Automotive
- ABC News
Max Verstappen addresses George Russell F1 incident as Canadian Grand Prix looms
Max Verstappen said that frustration caused "a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened", a day after he initially seemed unrepentant over his collision with George Russell at Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix. Before the collision, Verstappen had been asked by his Red Bull team to give up a place to Russell. It followed an earlier incident between the two drivers when Russell had tried to get past Verstappen, who went off the track. The race stewards ruled Verstappen had "suddenly accelerated" before the collision and Russell said it "felt very deliberate". The stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty which dropped him from fifth to 10th and left him 49 points off standings leader Oscar Piastri, who won Sunday's race. "We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tire 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," Verstappen wrote on Instagram. "I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you (at the next race) in Montreal." Initially in the aftermath of the race, Verstappen had said that "next time I will bring a tissue", responding to Russell claiming he set a poor example for young drivers. Russell finished fourth. The collision followed a series of setbacks for Verstappen, who had been in third and pressuring the two McLaren drivers in front before the safety car came out. Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen into the pits for fresh tires, even though the only ones he had left were slower hard-compound tires, a type that no other driver used. At the restart, Verstappen lost grip and was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari made contact with Verstappen's Red Bull. Neither driver was ruled at fault for that. Verstappen then went off the track while defending against Russell and Red Bull asked Verstappen to give up the place to Russell, apparently because the team expected Verstappen would be given a penalty. The stewards later ruled they wouldn't have taken action against the Dutch driver for that incident. Verstappen needs to be careful in the next two races because the penalty for the collision with Russell also brought him penalty points on his licence, taking him to 11 in the last 12 months. Drivers get a one-race suspension if they hit 12 points in a year. Two of those points expire at the end of the month, but until then Verstappen needs to get through the Canadian and Austrian races without any further penalty points. AP
Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Times
Max Verstappen accepts blame for ‘not right move' in George Russell crash
Max Verstappen has admitted that his move on George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix was 'not right and shouldn't have happened'. The Red Bull driver initially refused to apologise on Sunday for appearing to deliberately collide with the Mercedes car near the end of a dramatic race, but he took to social media on Monday to admit his error. The Dutchman was given a ten-second penalty for the incident, which dropped him from fourth to tenth in the race and allowed the two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, to pull away in the drivers' standings. Russell called the collision 'very deliberate' on Verstappen's part and the four-times world champion — who is renowned for his aggressive driving style and said he had 'no regrets' on Sunday — has now taken the unexpected step of apologising. 'We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, until the safety car came out,' he said. '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.' After a safety car restart, Verstappen, left on hard tyres, lost third place to Charles Leclerc and then ran off track to avoid hitting Russell. Red Bull adjudged that their driver would likely receive a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, so told him to give the place back. Verstappen angrily responded with expletives on the radio, and then it appeared, in giving the place back, that he drove into Russell, causing contact. The race stewards said Verstappen was 'undoubtedly' the cause of the incident, giving him a ten-second time penalty, and three penalty points on his super licence. Verstappen eventually finished tenth, with Russell fourth, as Piastri won his fifth race of the season for McLaren. 'It felt very deliberate, to be honest,' Russell said. 'It's something that I've seen numerous times in sim racing and in go-karting. Never have I seen it in a Formula 1 race. So that was something new. 'It's a bit of a shame because Max is clearly one of the best drivers in the world. But manoeuvres like that are just totally unnecessary and sort of let him down. 'It's a shame for all the young kids looking up, aspiring to be Formula 1 drivers. So as I said, I don't know what he was thinking. In the end, I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I ultimately benefited from those antics.' The penalty points leave Verstappen with 11 over the past year, on the verge of a race ban if he reaches 12 — he must complete the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix without further incident before the first of those points expire. The Dutchman said, 'Does it matter?' on Sunday when he was asked if the move was intentional, and said he would 'bring some tissues next time' when told that Russell felt he had shown a bad example to youngsters. Enraged by his error, Verstappen then appeared to deliberately make contact with Russell after his Red Bull engineer had told him to let the Englishman past SKY SPORTS Nico Rosberg, the former world champion turned Sky pundit, said Verstappen should have been disqualified for the collision. '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. '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 added: 'If it was truly deliberate, then absolutely [he should have been disqualified]. Because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver. We're putting our lives on the line. We're fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days, but we shouldn't take it for granted. It's down to the stewards to determine if it's deliberate or not.' Norris likened the move to one he would perform on the game Mario Kart when watching the incident in the podium room. Toto Wolff, Russell's team principal at Mercedes, who has shown interest in signing the four-times world champion, said he could not determine Verstappen's intentions. 'We were under the impression in the race that he had a problem with the car, and that's why he was so slow getting out of [turn] four,' Wolff said. 'I mean, if it was road rage, which I can't imagine, because it was too obvious, that is not good. 'I don't know what he aimed for. Did he want to let George past, and immediately re-pass? Put George the car ahead and then, like the old DRS games, letting him past at the right way. Or… for me, it's just incomprehensible. But, again, I don't know exactly what the motivations were, and I don't want to judge on it and say this was road rage etc. It wasn't nice.' Christian Horner, Verstappen's team principal, said that he had not spoken to his driver but that it was clear he had been increasingly 'frustrated' in the closing laps. To compound Red Bull's misery, the stewards' written response to the first incident with Russell judged that it was in fact the Mercedes driver's actions that caused Verstappen to leave the track, so he would not have been punished and did not need to give the place back. It is not the first time Verstappen has caused high-profile collisions. His battles with Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 title race often overstepped the mark, while he was also penalised for some moves against Norris in the second half of last season. 'There's a pattern that the great ones, whether it's in motor racing or in other sports, you just need to have the world against you, and then perform at the highest possible levels,' Wolff added. 'That's why sometimes these greats don't recognise that actually the world is not against you, you have made a mistake, or you have screwed up… we haven't seen any of these moments with Max for many years now. The year 2021, that happened, and I don't know where it comes from.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Christian Horner attacks Ralf Schumacher over his Max Verstappen conspiracy theory
Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner has dismissed claims that Max Verstappen intentionally crashed at the Spanish Grand Prix as 'utter nonsense'. During an emotionally charged race at the Circuit de Barcelona on Sunday Verstappen lost his cool with his rival George Russell after being asked to hand his place back to the Mercedes star. The stewards found Verstappen to blame for the collision and handed him a 10-second penalty that plunged him from fifth to a 10th-place finish. The disappointing showing means Verstappen now sits third in the Formula One drivers' standings, behind Lando Norris and more than 40 points adrift of leader Oscar Piastri. Following the race driver-turned-pundit Ralf Schumacher made the baseless claim that the Dutchman has been intentionally sabotaging his performances. Schumacher's theory derives from reports that Verstappen has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave Red Bull at the end of 2025 if he finishes below third in the drivers' standings at the end of the season. 'One has to pay attention now – if such a clause exists – why such things suddenly happen?' Schumacher said on Sky Germany after Sunday's race. 'And why do you incur a penalty that is so unnecessary? It could also be that once you've made the decision for yourself, you no longer want to ensure that it remains that way.' The wild claims have drawn the ire of Red Bull chiefs, including team principal Christian Horner, who called the theory 'stupid'. 'This theory is utter nonsense,' Horner told Bild. 'I haven't heard anything so stupid in a long time. Max is a racer through and through. He always wants to win and would never act like that.' Horner has long endured a mixed relationship with his star driver, with the husband of former Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell repeatedly butting heads with Verstappen's father, Jos. In June of last year Jos accused Horner of trying 'to force him out of a Legends Parade' as part of the festivities surrounding the Austrian Grand Prix.
CNA
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CNA
Russell clash should not have happened, says Verstappen
BARCELONA :Max Verstappen has conceded that his Spanish Grand Prix clash with Mercedes' George Russell, which left the Formula One champion on the brink of a ban, was wrong and should not have happened. The Red Bull driver made his comments on Instagram a day after the race at the Circuit de Catalunya. Four-times world champion Verstappen was given a 10-second post-race penalty for appearing to drive into Russell after a late safety car period, as well as three penalty points on his super-licence. The added time dropped him from fifth to 10th while the penalty points took his tally to 11 in a 12-month period. One more in the next two races before the end of June will trigger a race ban. "We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out," Verstappen, who had led Sunday's race won by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, said in his post. "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." On Sunday, in the immediate aftermath, Verstappen had preferred not to comment. The Dutch driver has won twice this season, the only non-McLaren driver to do so, but his hopes of a fifth title are slipping away as McLaren continue to dominate with seven wins in nine races so far. His move on Russell drew a mixture of condemnation and astonishment in the paddock. "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. "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." Verstappen said on Sunday that Rosberg "can have his opinion", while Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told reporters "Nico's quite sensational in the way he commentates, so we'll leave it there."
