MAX VERSTAPPEN clattered into a fresh controversy on Sunday when stewards ruled he rammed rival George Russell in the closing laps of an eventful Spanish Grand Prix.
The incident happened shortly after racing restarted with five laps left following a safety car. Verstappen immediately lost third to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and then went off the track as he tried to hold off Russell’s Mercedes.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team told their driver to hand the place to Russell, the Dutchman appeared about to do that as he slowed into turn five with two laps left. Instead he speared into the Mercedes.
Stewards handed the Dutchman a 10-second penalty and he finished 10th. He said later that he was unhappy at the way Leclerc had passed him and Russell had tried to overtake.
The 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg told British broadcaster Sky that Verstappen should have been disqualified.
“It looked like a very intentional retaliation,“ Roseberg said. “Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at turn one.”
“I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that’s a black flag.”
After the race, Verstappen accused Leclerc of driving into him while overtaking and said Russell pushed him off track, forcing him to take to the escape road to retain fourth place.
Verstappen did not deny that his move on Russell – with whom he was involved in a war of words last season – was deliberate.
“Does it matter?” he said. “I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment.”
Verstappen brushed aside talk of his defence of his drivers’ title.
“We are way too slow anyway to fight for the title. I think that was clear again today,“ he said.
Asked by Sky whether his reputation being tarnished by the collisions and penalty, he said: “Is it? Well that’s your opinion. We will leave it there.”
Russell said Verstappen’s move remind him of video games.
“I was as surprised as you guys were,“ he told reporters. “I’ve seen these manoeuvres before on simulator games and in go-karting, but never in F1.
“Ultimately, we came home in P4 and he came home in P10. I don’t know what was going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment so, yeah, it was a bit surprising.
“It is down to the stewards to decide if its deliberate or not. Max is such an amazing driver and so many people look up to him. It’s a shame that something like that continues to occur. It seems totally unnecessary and it never seems to benefit himself.”
Leclerc and Verstappen were both called to the stewards’ office after the race to assist in more investigations into their collision.
