Max Verstappen Responds to Claims of Intentionally Crashing into George Russell at Spanish GP

Max Verstappen was accused of trying to purposely crash into George Russell after the Safety Car restart at the Spanish GP.

Max Verstappen Responds to Claims of Intentionally Crashing into George Russell at Spanish GP

George Russell and Max Verstappen (image via Red Bull)

Max Verstappen‘s Spanish GP weekend turned into a disaster. An alternative strategy by Red Bull did not bear fruit due to a late Safety Car. After the restart, Verstappen collided with George Russell, hampering his own race. There have been claims that the Dutchman tried to crash on purpose. Now, the 27-year-old has given a straightforward response.

During the restart, Max Verstappen was on a set of hard tires. This gave him virtually no traction against his rivals and he lost position to Charles Leclerc straightaway. George Russell was right on Verstappen’s tail and the two almost touched, with the Red Bull car going off-track. The 27-year-old was instructed by Red Bull to give Russell the position to avoid a time penalty. However, the two drivers collided when it seemed that the Dutchman was giving the place to the Mercedes.

This sparked controversy within the F1 paddock. Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg claimed that Verstappen intentionally crashed into Russell in an act of retaliation. While the Mercedes driver reckoned that the crash did seem to be on purpose.

Max Verstappen denied all claims of potentially colliding with Russell as an act of revenge. The Dutchman confessed that he made an error in his judgement while trying to give the place back to Russell. Verstappen made it clear that he was not going to comment on the incident further, while highlighting that people are entitled to have their own opinions over the clash.

It was an error in judgement. It’s no use talking about it any further. Everyone has their own view of it.

Max Verstappen said post-race

Max Verstappen has ‘no regrets’ over George Russell clash

The F1 paddock is completely focused around Verstappen’s incident with George Russell. The Red Bull star was handed a ten-second time penalty and three penalty points to his F1 super license. However, despite the noise around the collision, it seems that the 27-year-old is in no mood to clear things out.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Max Verstappen asserted that he found it unnecessary to have a chat with George Russell, insisting that he had nothing more to say. The reigning world champion claimed that he wasn’t going to regret his move. So much so, that he reminded fans of the famous phrase, “You only live once.” A rather interesting comment from the Red Bull star, potentially highlighting that he would continue to drive aggressively even in such situations.

Will I talk to George about this? No, I don’t think that’s necessary. I have nothing to say to him. In life you shouldn’t regret something too often. You only live once. So no, I don’t regret today either.

Max Verstappen told De Telegraaf

No matter what Verstappen says, the incident was a blow to his title prospects. The penalty forced him down to tenth place, leading to a massive points loss against the two McLarens. Moreover, the Dutchman now has 11 penalty points on his super license, just one short of a race ban. If the 27-year-old does not keep it clean, he could be forced to sit out a Grand Prix, with his fifth title slipping away.

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