Max Verstappen has admitted his clash with George Russell during the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix “was not right and shouldn’t have happened”.
The Red Bull driver finished 10th at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after being hit with a 10-second penalty for the incident and was also given three penalty points on his licence, which puts him on the edge of a race ban.
Verstappen’s race unravelled when he lost third place to Charles Leclerc following a safety car restart on lap 61.
The Red Bull driver then had to defend from a Russell divebomb down the inside of Turn 1 and the two drivers banged wheels, with the Dutchman forced into using the escape road, which kept him ahead.
Verstappen believed he was in the right on both occasions, yet Red Bull still instructed him to hand fourth place to Russell, which led to his clash with the Mercedes driver at Turn 5 on lap 64.
“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out,” Verstappen posted on Instagram.
“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.”
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