Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Max Verstappen, George Russell, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes
Marcus Chan
Topics: Max Verstappen, George Russell, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes
Max Verstappen has taken to social media and issued a new statement on the back of his incident with George Russell.
On Sunday, the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona had a dramatic end after Verstappen and Russell collided on Lap 64.
The pair's clash stemmed from the safety car restart, with Russell and Verstappen coming together on Lap 61, forcing the Red Bull star to take to the escape route.
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After the Dutchman rejoined ahead of Russell, he was told by his race engineer to give the place back to the Mercedes driver.
On Lap 64, Verstappen and Russell collided after the reigning world champion attempted to hand position back but then appeared to hit the throttle immediately.
As a result, Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, dropping him from P5 to P10.
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Speaking after the race, Russell was far from happy with Verstappen, he said: "I was as surprised as you guys probably were, I've seen those sort of moves before on simulator games or in go-karts but never in Formula One.
"Ultimately, we came home with P4 and he came home in P10 so I don't really know what was going through his mind. It felt deliberate in the moment. It was a bit surprising."
Verstappen refused to comment on the incident during his post-race interviews.
However, on Monday morning, Verstappen took to social media to acknowledge his mistake on the track.
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He wrote: "We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.
"I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal."
Speaking on Sky Sports, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg pulled no punches, he said: “He just crashed into Russell on purpose just to prove a point.
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“That was horrible. That did not look good. That’s bad, bad, bad. That is seriously bad. He just rams him, full on.”