Ex-F1 Driver Declares Max Verstappen Has ‘No Justification’ over George Russell Clash

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer asserted that there was no excuse for Max Verstappen's incident with George Russell at Spanish GP.

Ex-F1 Driver Declares Max Verstappen Has ‘No Justification’ over George Russell Clash

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

Max Verstappen‘s Spanish GP was a disaster. The reigning world champion has remained at the center of controversy for his collision with George Russell. Despite over a week having passed since then, critics have continued to express their resentment towards the Red Bull driver’s actions. Now, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has doubled down on his views on the incident.

During the Spanish GP, a frustrated Max Verstappen found himself struggling for grip on a set of hard tires. He was instructed to give his position to George Russell after running wide. However, when the 27-year-old seemed to be swapping the positions, he ended up colliding with the Mercedes driver.

Many pundits slammed Verstappen’s actions. Nico Rosberg was one of the first to label it as an intentional collision. Though, the Dutchman refuted this claim. Moreover, Jolyon Palmer took a subtle dig at the four-time world champion’s anger following the race.

Palmer remained firm on his view that the crash must’ve been deliberate. Max Verstappen is alleged to have made contact with Russell on purpose after he was left fuming due to his situation in the race. The former Renault driver made it clear that there can never be a justification for any intentional crashes in Formula 1 or racing as a whole. Jolyon Palmer was adamant that this is what Verstappen had tried to do with Russell.

There’s no justification for deliberately trying to crash a Formula 1 car and that’s what he tried to do you know he tried to barge into George Russell and there’s no… I just don’t see there’s any justification.

Jolyon Palmer said on F1 Nation podcast

Max Verstappen a potential bad influence to young racers

Max Verstappen is one of the biggest names in the world of motorsport right now. The Dutchman dominated Formula 1 in recent years and shattered several records. Today, aspiring young racers look up to the reigning world champion, hoping to mimic his success in the future. This makes the controversial incident even more concerning.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (image via XPB images)

Jolyon Palmer asserted that many consider Verstappen as their idol. The Dutch driver is now on the same level of stardom as the likes of all-time greats, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. It is alarming to think that some young racers might think that it was okay to crash into someone on purpose because Max Verstappen did that with George Russell in Formula 1. Russell had voiced similar concerns after the incident about a negative impact on younger minds. However, Verstappen had hit back by mocking the Mercedes driver’s comment.

He is a four-time world champion, he’s the best driver in the field I still believe and people are looking up to him as idols. How many people wear a Senna helmet or they wear a Schumacher helmet coming through the ranks? And you’re looking at karters, you’re looking at young drivers and you’re thinking, ‘is it actually okay to be a bit more Max Verstappen and to maybe deliberately drive into someone effectively?’ And I just don’t think in a sport there’s justification.

Jolyon Palmer explained

It appears that the world of Formula 1 is not going to forget Max Verstappen’s Spanish GP chaos anytime soon. The incident remains engraved in the memory of fans and critics alike. Though, there is no concrete evidence that Verstappen crashed on purpose, his emotions were not under his control. The four-time world champion needs to introspect his actions before he gets back into the RB21 cockpit in Canada.

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