Verstappen one point away from suspension after incident with Russell

Max Verstappen has never been this close to a suspension. After his clash with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Dutchman now has a total of 11 penalty points on his super license. Just one more, and he will automatically be sanctioned with a race suspension, in accordance with the FIA regulations over a 12-month period.

The stewards have awarded three additional penalty points to the Dutch driver for his responsibility in the collision with the Mercedes driver, along with a ten-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to tenth place. Verstappen will lose two points at the end of the month during the Austrian Grand Prix, but must avoid any further incidents until then.

A chaotic sequence

It’s in the final laps, after the restart following Kimi Antonelli’s off-track excursion, that everything changes. Verstappen, then on hard tires which were disadvantageous compared to his competitors equipped with soft tires, made multiple contacts in a particularly hectic sequence at the end of the race.

It all starts with a collision with Charles Leclerc on the main straight. Verstappen, destabilized by a skid coming out of the last corner, sees the Ferrari overtake him before cutting the chicane to maintain his position against Russell. The Mercedes driver then attempts an overtake on the inside at the first corner, pushing the Red Bull towards the escape road. Verstappen nevertheless keeps his position, but his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase orders him to give back the place, citing the racing rules.

This is where the situation degenerates. Verstappen initially seems to comply by slowing down at the approach to turn number five and leaving space for Russell to overtake on the outside. But just as the Mercedes is about to pass, the Red Bull driver suddenly accelerates and deliberately hits his opponent. A move that immediately provokes Russell’s incomprehension, who quickly asks for explanations on his radio.

The stewards did not delay in analyzing this incident. Although they determined that Verstappen had been forced off track and therefore was not required to give back his position after the initial incident, they pointed out that radio communications clearly showed that the driver was upset by his team’s request: « It was clear that the driver of car 1 was unhappy with his team’s request to give back the position. Approaching turn 5, car 1 significantly reduced its speed, seemingly allowing car 63 to overtake. However, after car 63 took the advantage entering turn 5, car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with car 63. », as stated in the decision.

This interpretation of the events resonated with several observers in the paddock. Former F1 driver and Sky Sports consultant Anthony Davidson did not mince words, calling the act intentional. Nico Rosberg went further, stating that Verstappen deserved a straightforward disqualification, deeming the penalty insufficient. He also compared the incident to that between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in Baku in 2017, where the four-time German world champion had received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for more or less comparable acts.

Verstappen evades the questions

The Dutch champion was evasive when faced with journalists’ questions after the race. When asked about the intentionality of his move against Russell, he replied, “Does it matter?”, before attempting to divert attention by avoiding commenting on the incident: “I would rather talk about the race than a single moment.” He then continued by discussing the difficulties Red Bull faced against McLaren, particularly noting that the team was far too slow to compete for the title.

For his part, Russell did not hide his astonishment at Verstappen’s behavior on the track. Speaking after the race, the Briton said he was surprised by the move, stating that he did not understand what was going through the Red Bull driver’s mind. He mentioned having seen this type of maneuver in simulation games and karting, but never in F1. To him, it seemed deliberate at the time, while leaving it to the stewards to judge the real intention behind the maneuver.

Despite his lack of understanding, the British driver still highlighted his rival’s qualities: “Max is an exceptional driver, a lot of people admire him. It’s a shame that this kind of thing continues to happen, it seems completely unnecessary and never benefits him,” he lamented.

Red Bull is going through a difficult phase. Indeed, the Austrian team is already trailing by a concerning 218 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, while Verstappen is now 49 points behind Oscar Piastri, the leader in the Drivers’ standings. This unprecedented situation in years could well fuel the frustration of the four-time world champion, who is not used to being in a chaser position.

With this threat of suspension now looming over him, the slightest misstep in the upcoming races could send Verstappen to the pits for an entire Grand Prix. This could further worsen the crisis his team is going through, having already lost the relentless consistency that had ensured its domination in recent seasons.