Max Verstappen has issued a veiled apology for his crash with George Russell by admitting it “was not right and should have not happened”. The four-time world champion was hit with a 10-second penalty by the stewards for causing a collision with Russell with two laps remaining of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Russell said he felt Verstappen’s move was deliberate and accused the Red Bull driver of letting himself down. He also suggested that Verstappen should have been disqualified. After the race, Verstappen refused to accept blame for the coming together and even sarcastically offered Russell a tissue after he was informed of his rival’s comments.
However, in a message posted on social media on Monday, Verstappen said: “We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. 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 [at the next race] in Montreal.”
Verstappen, who was on the slower hard tyre compound, lost third place to Charles Leclerc when he made a mistake on the exit of the final corner in a six-lap shootout to the flag after 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,” Verstappen said. “What the fuck! He just ran me off the road.”
Verstappen slowed down at turn five to allow Russell past, but then accelerated and drove into the Mercedes. “What the fuck?” Russell said on the radio. Verstappen later moved out of Russell’s way and crossed the line in fifth. He was given a timed penalty by the stewards – demoting him to 10th – and three penalty points on his licence, which leaves him one point away from a race ban. He trails the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, by 49 points.
It marked another controversial chapter in Verstappen’s career after run-ins last year with Lando Norris and multiple clashes with Lewis Hamilton in their title duel four years ago.
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The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who has been linked with a move for Verstappen, said: “I don’t know exactly what the motivations were and I don’t want to jump on it and say it was road rage, but it wasn’t nice.
“The great ones, whether it’s in motor racing or in other sports, you just need to have the world against you and perform at the highest possible level. That’s why sometimes these greats don’t recognise that actually the world is not against you, it’s just you who has made a mistake or screwed up.”
