Max Verstappen landed himself in hot water after the Spanish Grand Prix when he appeared to collide intentionally with George Russell in the closing stages.
The Dutchman was frustrated with his tyre choice after pitting following a late race Safety Car, when Red Bull fitted new hard tyres to his car.
After nearly losing his car at the restart exiting the final corner, Verstappen had to give up position to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. He would later get into a scrap with George Russell, with the Mercedes driver choosing to go down the inside of the first corner.
Verstappen would take avoiding action by going down the escape road at the final corner, but the team would later instruct him to give the position back to Russell. The stewards would later investigate the move and took no further action.
An irritated Verstappen remonstrated on team radio before briefly slowing on entry to Turn 5, appearing to let Russell past before accelerating and making contact. He would later be issued a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision by the stewards, dropping him from fifth to 10th at the chequered flag.
Verstappen didn’t address it when speaking to the media after the race, but taking to Instagram, the Dutchman has garnered some fan support after admitting he was at fault for the move.
F1 fans praise Max Verstappen for admitting fault in George Russell collision
Verstappen has admitted that his clash with Russell in the Spanish GP was “not right and shouldn’t have happened” after receiving backlash from F1 fans following the race.
Fans reacted to his post with praise, with one commenting: “It was a moment of frustration which you know was wrong & that’s all we ask for, you’ve got this! Bring on Canada!”
Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos has said in a separate comment on the post: “That’s the correct attitude.”
While another fan wrote: “Emotions can run high when a winning strategy turns into a losing one. we know you will bounce back again. So proud of you Max.”
Another fan commented: “We love you, Max! You’re simply lovely even when being angry!”
One fan commented: “Don’t worry champ we know you will bounce back again,” while another said: “We understand the frustrations and we support you.”
Max Verstappen close to a race ban after Spanish GP saga
Verstappen is now one point on his FIA super licence away from being issued an automatic one-race ban.
This is because the stewards issued a separate three additional penalty points on his licence, which puts his total in a 12-month period up to 11 points.
| Grand Prix/Points | Reason |
| Austrian Grand Prix 2024 (two penalty points) | Causing a collision with Lando Norris |
| Mexico City Grand Prix 2024 (two penalty points) | Forcing Lando Norris off the track |
| Sao Paulo Grand Prix Sprint 2024 (one penalty point) | Speeding during a Virtual Safety Car |
| Qatar Grand Prix 2024 (one penalty point) | Driving unnecessarily slowly during qualifying |
| Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 (two penalty points) | Causing a collision with Oscar Piastri |
| Spanish Grand Prix 2025 (three penalty points) | Causing a collision with George Russell |
If a driver reaches 12 points in a 12-month period, they are given an automatic ban at the next event they will compete.
The last driver to fall foul of this rule was Kevin Magnussen last season. Verstappen must make sure he doesn’t accumulate any points in the next two events, otherwise he will be issued a ban.
