Red Bull’s Spanish Grand Prix ended about as disastrously as it could have done for reigning champion Max Verstappen.
Stranded on cold, hard tyres after a late safety car restart, he was overtaken by Charles Leclerc following a violent snap from his Red Bull car at the final corner, before Mercedes’ George Russell tried his luck into turn one as well.
After remaining ahead, Verstappen was ordered to hand fourth place to the Brit, but ended up making contact with him in the process. It would become the hottest talking point of the Spanish Grand Prix, and leave the man who is third in the drivers’ championship just one penalty point from a race ban.
Verstappen’s radio message to Red Bull cost him dearly after failing to question being asked to let Russell past when he may not have needed to. Following the incident, it now looks like Russell’s ‘disrespectful’ Verstappen claim was well-justified after yet another clash.
Being punished to the tune of 10 seconds and three penalty points won’t upset the reigning champion too much. Verstappen said one Russell action isn’t ‘necessary’ and admitted that he won’t be apologising to the Brit after their coming together in Spain. It won’t be too good for their already frosty relations.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen fans think he’s entering his ‘villain era’ after hearing one answer from his Spanish Grand Prix interview
Christian Horner shares what Max Verstappen did in Red Bull’s Spanish Grand Prix debrief
Speaking on his Instagram account after the race, Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed exactly what Verstappen did in the team’s post-race debrief regarding his Russell collision.
“Spain closes out the triple header, and we leave Barcelona frustrated that we didn’t take more from the race,” he said.
“As a team, we attacked on the three-stop, which was the better strategy and it was only the safety car which had us over. We would never have been as close to Lando if it wasn’t for the three stopper.
“The safety car came out at the worst possible time for our strategy, we had the choice to stay out on older tyres or take the gamble with a new set of hard tyres. Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had,” he continued.
“The result that followed was frustrating as it was looking to be an easy podium for Max and good Championship points. Max apologised in the debrief for his incident with Russell. The SC also hurt Yuki’s race. He would’ve been very close if not in the points otherwise, if you look at the trajectory he was on.”
Despite Verstappen fans thinking he’s in his villain era, he’s clearly frustrated about the current state of play as he attempts to win a fifth consecutive title. Becoming just the second driver in Formula 1 history to do so after Michael Schumacher now seems a lofty goal.
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What did F1 fans think of Max Verstappen’s Spanish Grand Prix clash with George Russell?
2016 champion Nico Rosberg called Verstappen’s actions ‘horrible’ and Lando Norris said he had made similar moves on Mario Kart before.
But what exactly did everyone else think of it? F1 fans said Verstappen deserved a ‘clear’ penalty and the stewards agreed in their post-race assessment.
The Dutchman has to wait until the end of June for anymore of his penalty points to be wiped, meaning that he could receive a one-race ban for any incidents he is found guilty of over the next few races.
If he was to miss a race, Arvid Lindblad would have a strong chance of making his debut at Racing Bulls, while Isack Hadjar may get the nod to step up to the senior team.
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