Max Verstappen faced criticism following his controversial performance at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutch driver appeared to deliberately collide with rival George Russell‘s Mercedes vehicle, an incident that resulted in a costly time penalty. However, several experts believe he should have been penalized more severely, including former champion Nico Rosberg, although Red Bull team boss Christian Horner disagrees.
“Verstappen should have been black-flagged,” Nico Rosberg commented on the incident. “He deliberately crashed into Russell, just to make a point,” the German concluded in his race commentary for Sky Sports. “That was terrible. It didn’t look good. That’s very, very, very bad. That’s really bad.” Verstappen was ultimately given a ten-second time penalty and three penalty points on his racing license – a significant blow to his title chances.
Christian Horner was asked about Nico Rosberg’s comments after the race, but the Red Bull team boss dismissed the commentary as sensationalism. “Nico (Rosberg) is quite sensational in his commentary,” Horner retorted. “I suggest we leave it at that.” Verstappen himself was also unimpressed by the remarks. “Yes, that’s his opinion; everyone is entitled to their opinion,” the Dutchman bluntly stated.
