While Toto Wolff is adamant that Max Verstappen will have had nothing to do with Red Bull’s Canadian Grand Prix protest, Nico Rosberg is not so sure.

Red Bull launched a two-part protest against Mercedes’ Canadian Grand Prix winner George Russell after the race, one branded “petty” and “embarrassing” by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, with neither upheld, rubber-stamping Russell as the victor.

Wolff and Rosberg clash over Max Verstappen’s Red Bull protest role

Russell led Verstappen across the line in Canada as the race finished behind the Safety Car – Lando Norris having eliminated himself from the Grand Prix by tangling with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri – but Russell’s win was under review for a time as Red Bull launched a double protest.

Part of said protest focused on an incident down the back straight where Russell braked, meaning Verstappen – on his right – was caught out and briefly overtook, Verstappen having gone into that race knowing one more penalty point incurred would trigger a one-race ban.

Explaining Red Bull’s grounds for protest, team principal Christian Horner said: “It’s relating to the erratic driving behind the Safety Car, where George very heavily braked, obviously looking at his mirror for Max.

“And the second [protest] is, very clearly, the distance that was left behind the Safety Car that was well in excess.

“I think it was three times in excess of the permitted distance. So it’s within our right to, obviously, protest that. So we’ve lodged the protests, it’s with the stewards now, and we’ll see what they say.”

Red Bull were unsuccessful with their protests, a “petty” and “embarrassing” display according to Wolff.

But interestingly, he went on to shed Verstappen of any responsibility.

“What is it all about? Who decides it? Because I’m 100 per cent sure it’s not Max, he’s a racer,” Wolff added when speaking with Sky Sports.

“He would never go for a protest on such a trivial thing.”

However, Mercedes’ 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg can well imagine that Verstappen “pushed” for the Red Bull protest having been left “angry” by the actions of Russell.

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“Under the Safety Car, Max was being cheeky and trying to go right next to George, which you don’t like that as a driver. When you see this guy trying to make himself really big next to you, it feels like he’s trying to add pressure,” said Rosberg on Sky’s The F1 Show podcast.

“And so George slammed the brakes [laughs]. He slammed the brakes and made Max overshoot him. So Max actually overtook him.

“And I’ve never seen someone be so fast on the radio button! So Max overshoots him by a meter, George is instant. He probably had his thumb on the radio button already, so he’s instant on the radio button: ‘Max just overtook me. Max overtook me. You need to check that out.’

“I think also the fact that Red Bull then appealed, it wouldn’t surprise me if that was pushed by Max, because Max got angry that George hit the brakes and tried to get him into a penalty situation. So Max was like, ‘I’m not having that.’ Asking his team to appeal to try and get George in trouble, it wouldn’t surprise me.

“So we’re seeing the cat and mouse games continue.”

Russell was able to reduce the gap to Verstappen and P3 in the Drivers’ standings to 19 points with his Canadian GP win.

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