Max Verstappen experiences one of his worst races in Spain, in Barcelona. At the circuit where he claimed his first GP victory in 2015, he becomes the center of controversy after a collision in the final stages with George Russell. “Max should have been shown the black flag for that,” concludes former world champion Nico Rosberg.
With a stormy expression hidden beneath his helmet, Max Verstappen heads straight to the garage after the race. Angry and misunderstood, after not only losing third place to Charles Leclerc due to a poor tire choice in the final stages, but also receiving a ten-second penalty due to the incident with Russell. As a result, he finishes in tenth place, losing 24 points to the winner in Spain and World Championship leader Oscar Piastri.
The collision with Russell dominates the conversation in Barcelona. In the final stages, after the safety car has left the track, Verstappen engages in a fierce duel with Leclerc and Russell. Over the team radio, he expresses his annoyance at the overtaking maneuvers of both the Monegasque and the Brit. The first move by Leclerc on the straight seems legal, the second by Russell does not. The world champion has to take the escape road to avoid a major crash. He therefore does not give the position back to Russell. Later, his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase asks him to do so.
Verstappen, who believes he is in the right, is not pleased with this. When Russell attacks again, Verstappen gives him a nudge, much to the Brit’s anger. But also to the displeasure of Jolyon Palmer, analyst for F1TV. “Max saw red,” he claims. Nico Rosberg is even more outspoken on pay-TV channel Sky Sports. “Max should have been shown the black flag (disqualification) for that action. What he did is really not acceptable.”
The race direction decides to impose a ten-second time penalty on Verstappen after the race, causing him to drop from fifth to tenth place.
