In a new column, Martin Brundle has claimed that Max Verstappen was “telling tales out of school” during the Miami Grand Prix.

Brundle is referencing Verstappen’s claim that George Russell has failed to slow down during yellow-flag conditions, which the FIA disputed.

Max Verstappen “telling tales out of school,” says Brundle

While the threat of rain early in the day saw F1 Academy’s second race in Florida cancelled, the weather had backed off for the 2025 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, enabling the weekend’s main event to go off without a hitch.

But even though there were no weather delays, there were several Virtual Safety Cars issued as the result of several drivers retiring trackside with punctures or faulty power units.

One such VSC arrived with fortuitous timing for the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as well as for the Mercedes of George Russell; all three eventual podiumsitters were able to make their stops without losing a massive amount of time in the pits.

The same couldn’t be said for the Red Bull Racing machine of Max Verstappen; the team chose to pit its driver just before the VSC. As the field cycled through stops, it turned out that the timing had enabled Russell to pass Verstappen on the track.

Though the McLaren duo were too far ahead to be chased down, Max Verstappen was able to stick close to Russell in the closing stages — close enough to report that he felt Russell had failed to slow for another VSC.

More analysis from the Miami Grand Prix:

👉 Miami GP conclusions: McLaren’s rocket ship, unstoppable Piastri and same old Ferrari

👉 Miami GP driver ratings: Flying Piastri while Ferrari drivers are both frustrated

Stewards ultimately determined that Russell had indeed lifted off the throttle when the yellow flag was deployed, but Red Bull appealed that result. They felt certain that Russell had indeed sped.

In a column for Sky Sports, F1 pundit Martin Brundle shared his perspective of the goings-on, highlighting the fact that Verstappen seemingly imagined Russell’s moving under braking.

“Russell had been struggling through the event, seemingly missing a couple of tenths of pace, but he kept his head, car, and tyres together with solid momentum along with a well-timed one and only pit stop to secure yet another podium,” Brundle wrote.

“What nearly let him down was his stomach, with some painful cramping in the final 15 laps.

“Russell had benefited from also pitting on lap 29 under the VSC and moving up to third place, but Max Verstappen kept him very honest throughout the closing phases, even telling tales out of school that George hadn’t lifted the throttle when passing a yellow flag.

“The Red Bull team escalated this after the race with a protest, one which the Stewards denied when saying ‘the protest is rejected and not founded’.”

The reigning champion can be quite the eagle-eyed competitor, spotting rule violations from his rivals from quite some distance, but in this case, it seems that Verstappen was mistaken.

Read next: Uncovered: How Norris and Verstappen helped Piastri seal third straight win