Post by : Mariam
Al-Faris
Photo: Instagram/@maxverstappen1
Max Verstappen admitted on Monday that he made a wrong move out of frustration during Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, which led to a collision with George Russell. This came a day after he initially showed no regret for the incident.
The Red Bull driver was asked by his team to give up a position to Russell after the collision. Race officials said Verstappen “suddenly accelerated” before hitting Russell’s Mercedes. Russell believed the move was “very deliberate.”. As a result, Verstappen got a 10-second penalty which pushed him from 5th place to 10th. He’s now 49 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, who won the race.
Verstappen later shared on Instagram:
“We had a strong race and strategy in Barcelona until the safety car came out. After that, our tyre choice and some moves on the restart frustrated me, and I made a move that wasn’t right and shouldn’t have happened.
I always give everything for the team, and emotions can run high. Sometimes you win together, sometimes you lose together. See you in Montreal.”
Earlier, Verstappen was less apologetic. After Russell said he set a bad example for young drivers, Verstappen replied, “Next time I’ll bring a tissue,” showing little concern.
Tough Race and Poor Tyre Call
Before the safety car, Verstappen was running in third place and chasing the McLaren cars. Red Bull brought him in for fresh tyres, but the only set left was the slower hard-compound tyres—no other team used them.
After the restart, he lost grip and was passed by Charles Leclerc. The two cars touched, but race officials didn’t blame anyone.
Later, while trying to defend against Russell, Verstappen went off the track. Red Bull then told him to give up the spot, expecting a possible penalty. However, the stewards later said no penalty was needed for that particular incident.
One Point Away from Suspension
Verstappen now has 11 penalty points on his racing licence in the past 12 months. If he gets one more, he’ll be suspended for one race. Two of those points will expire at the end of this month, so he must avoid any penalties in the next two races—Canada and Austria.
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