George Russell said Max Verstappen should have been disqualified for causing a deliberate and unnecessary crash in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix – prompting Verstappen to cheekily offer his frustrated British rival a tissue.
What had been a processional race at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, won by Oscar Piastri, who stretched his championship lead over Lando Norris from three to 10 points, exploded into drama on lap 64 of 66 when tensions between Verstappen and Russell boiled over.
After a safety car restart, Verstappen went off track defending fourth place against Russell. Though he rejoined ahead, Red Bull told him to let Russell pass. Verstappen complied briefly, slowing at Turn 5, but then suddenly accelerated into Russell’s Mercedes, sparking the clash.
“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 received three penalty points on his license, leaving 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.
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 maneuvers 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 opening 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.
“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 behind 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.”
