BARCELONA, Spain – George Russell voiced his opinion on the incident with Max Verstappen during the race, suggesting that the world champion’s move was intentional and could set a bad example for young Formula 1 fans.
Verstappen hit the side of Russell’s car in the final moments of the race, after he was asked to yield to the Mercedes driver, following an incident that occurred several laps earlier.
It was not clear whether Verstappen intentionally collided with Russell or if he tried to let the Mercedes pass and then overtake again, but he miscalculated the turn.Russell added that this type of maneuver is unnecessary and disappointing, especially for young people who aspire to be Formula 1 drivers. “I don’t know what he was thinking. In the end, I’m not going to lose sleep over it because, ultimately, I benefited from those antics,” he commented.“Honestly, I felt it was very deliberate,” Russell said after the race. “It’s something I’ve seen numerous times in sim racing and on iRacing. I’d never seen it in a Formula 1 race. So that was something new.”
George Russell
When asked if Verstappen should have been disqualified, Russell replied that he needed to review the incident, but if it was intentional, definitely yes. “Because you can’t deliberately crash into another driver. We are risking our lives. We are lucky that the cars are as safe as they are today, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. It’s up to the stewards to determine whether it was deliberate or not,” he explained.
Upon being informed of Russell’s comments, Verstappen simply replied: “Next time I’ll bring some tissues.”
