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Max Verstappen has looked back on his clash with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season. The Dutchman received a time penalty for the incident but now admits it was partly his own mistake. Still, he insists that even with hindsight, he wouldn’t have handled it differently.
Verstappen acknowledges his mistake
In an interview with De Telegraaf, Verstappen was asked what he considered his last major mistake of the Formula 1 season. The Red Bull driver didn’t hesitate: “That moment with Russell in Barcelona,” he said. “That definitely wasn’t good, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. Maybe it was actually a good thing that it happened. And you shouldn’t forget why I did it.”
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Frustration played a role
Verstappen referred to a team instruction that preceded the incident. His race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, had told him to let Russell pass after an earlier on-track battle. It later turned out that such an order hadn’t come from race control, meaning Verstappen gave up the position unnecessarily.
“It cost me a good result,” Verstappen recalled. “I was frustrated, and I showed it. But that just says something about how much I care. If I didn’t, I could have said, ‘Fine, just pass me, I’m going home.’ But that’s not who I am.”
Tensions continue in Mexico
The tension between Verstappen and Russell didn’t end in Barcelona. During the Mexican Grand Prix, the pair found themselves at it again. Verstappen made a lightning start, overtaking the Brit while diving past Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the opening corners. Russell was furious that the triple world champion escaped punishment and later called him “a ****ing joke.”
Verstappen, however, kept his cool and chose not to respond publicly. Reflecting on the situation, he simply noted, “You learn from moments like that. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and that’s just part of racing.”
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