MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — Max Verstappen dealt his Formula 1 title defense a self-inflicted blow at Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix when he collided with George Russell's Mercedes, in a move which Russell later said appeared to be “deliberate.”
Verstappen had been ordered by his Red Bull team to cede position to Russell — in hopes of avoiding a minor penalty — after he had driven beyond the track limits so he could defend his position late in the race.
The Dutchman slowed to let Russell pass, but as Russell did so Verstappen's car collided with the side of the Silver Arrow.
Race stewards ruled that the “collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions” of Verstappen and slapped him with a 10-second penalty. That sent him tumbling down the race standings to 10th place, after he crossed the finish line fifth.
“It felt very deliberate, to be honest,” Russell told reporters. “It is something I have … never (seen) before in a Formula 1 race.
“It is a bit of a shame because Max is clearly one of the best in the world, but maneuvers like that are totally unnecessary and let him down. And it is shame for the kids looking up and aspiring to be Formula One drivers.”
Tissue time
Verstappen was unrepentant.
“Next time I will bring a tissue,” Verstappen replied when told about Russell’s comment on him not being a good example for aspiring drivers.
The four-time defending champion wouldn’t go into what he thought happened, adding that Russell “has his view, I have my view."
Other drivers commented on the incident.
Lando Norris, who finished second behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, was taken back by the move when he watched it on a video monitor while cooling down.
“I’ve done that before ... on Mario Kart,” Norris quipped, comparing the collision to the popular video game of zany, action-packed racing.
Verstappen undone by late safety car
Verstappen was running third and looked to be in a strong position to at least challenge Norris for second place until Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes slid into the gravel and caused a safety car to come out.
The McLarens went in quickly to get new, faster tires, but Verstappen had already made an extra pit stop and so didn’t have any soft- or medium-compound tires left. So his team slapped on some hard-compound tires, which are slower and better for long runs, not the five laps remaining after the restart.
Verstappen said he felt like a sitting duck and was quickly overtaken by Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari and then Russell.
“I think up until then it was looking quite good for us,” Verstappen said. “We didn’t have, of course, the pace of the McLarens, but with that three stop, it still looked quite racy out there, putting them at least a little bit on the pressure in a way that they had to push.”
After taking just one point from the race, Verstappen was left 49 points adrift of Piastri in the overall standings.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
