F1 Pundit Pinpoints ‘Very Clever’ Max Verstappen Trick over George Russell Clash

F1 Pundit David Croft compared Max Verstappen's Spanish GP clash with George Russell to Sebastian Vettel's infamous 2017 Azerbaijan GP incident.

F1 Pundit Pinpoints ‘Very Clever’ Max Verstappen Trick over George Russell Clash

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull), George Russell (via Getty)

Max Verstappen sparked controversy at the Spanish GP. The Dutchman’s on-track antics made him the target of criticism following an incident with George Russell. Amid immense scrutiny, F1 presenter David Croft has highlighted the Red Bull star’s clever approach against Russell.

Formula 1 is no stranger to controversial moves. While former F1 champion Nico Rosberg claimed that Verstappen collided with Russell on purpose and deserved to be disqualified, the Dutchman was only given a time penalty. In the past, Sebastian Vettel received a stop-and-go penalty for intentionally slamming into Lewis Hamilton in Baku.

David Croft pinpointed the difference between the two incidents. While in Baku, Vettel purposely turned into Hamilton, with visible steering adjustment under the Safety Car, Verstappen had a much smarter approach.

The thing about the Sebastian Vettel moment in Baku is that Seb turned into Lewis. He actually adjusted his steering – behind the safety car remember – and banged wheels with Lewis.

David Croft told Sky F1

Croft claimed that Max Verstappen was much more clever in this regard. Instead of turning his steering wheel, the 27-year-old simply waited for Russell to make contact by not changing his wheel angle at all. This ultimately made it seem that there was no such intention of a collision. Albeit Verstappen has labeled the incident as an error of judgement.

Max was very clever actually in the way that he hit George. He almost allowed George to hit him by not turning his steering wheel to the left.

David Croft added

Max Verstappen didn’t get out of George Russell’s way

Reflecting more on the incident, Crofty reckoned that the steering angle of the Red Bull remained completely straight at the time of the incident. The Stewards would’ve noticed this aspect while deciding on Verstappen’s penalty. Though, the 27-year-old was also handed three penalty points.

His steering angle is actually dead straight when they make contact. The stewards would have looked at that as well.

David Croft added
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (image via XPB images)

David Croft asserted that the angle made the incident more ambiguous. Race control could not assume that Verstappen tried to crash deliberately. Although, the Red Bull star did not get out of Russell’s way either. Yet, the end result of the incident remained the same.

He’s not making a deliberate move towards George, but he’s not getting out of the way of George. The end result is exactly the same.

David Croft explained

Certainly, Max Verstappen will remain the talk of the paddock for the coming weeks. This incident has divided opinions across the grid, with many claiming that the Dutchman crashed on purpose. Though, this remains an accusation with no concrete evidence. Verstappen has served the penalty imposed by the Stewards, which dropped him down to tenth in the race.

Moreover, the Red Bull star is now just one penalty point away from facing a race ban this season, something that might force him to race less aggressively in the coming weeks. As the four-time world champion tries to stay in contention for the world championship against the two McLarens upfront. It remains to be seen whether this incident becomes a major turning point for Verstappen’s title ambitions.

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