Max Verstappen reflects on his collision with George Russell: “You live and you learn”

Max Verstappen and George Russell were involved in a controversial collision when the race at Barcelona was restarted after a safety car period near the end of the event, a moment when the majority of drivers took the opportunity to pit.

Max Verstappen lost big

The Red Bull driver, meanwhile, only had one set of hard tires left, which put him at a disadvantage against several competitors equipped with soft tires.

Max Verstappen was thus overtaken for 3rd place by Charles Leclerc on the main straight during the restart – the two cars briefly making contact in the process – before George Russell attempted an attack at the first turn. The Mercedes driver also made contact with Max Verstappen, forcing the latter to cut through the runoff area.

When Red Bull asked the Dutch driver to give back his position to George Russell, a second contact occurred between the two drivers, which resulted in Max Verstappen receiving a 10-second penalty. Result: he dropped from 5th to 10th place at the finish.

The next day, the four-time world champion wrote on social media: « The choice of tires at the end of the race and certain maneuvers after the restart behind the safety car fueled my frustration, which led to an action that was not correct and should not have happened. »

A highly anticipated statement

When asked on Thursday in Montreal about the incident – as well as George Russell’s comments that there was no problem between them after recently crossing paths at the airport, Max Verstappen replied: “Yes, not right after the race, but we saw each other later. Basically, we were both about to leave, so everything’s fine. I think we live and learn, right? And I explained my point of view on Monday, so we move on and try to have a good weekend here.”

Invited to specify what lesson he had learned from this Sunday in Barcelona, Max Verstappen added: « I think it’s quite clear, I was penalized, so we need to try not to do the same thing again. There’s a lot to say, but no need to go into details. »

The incident in Spain also brought his total penalty points to 11, just one point below the threshold of 12, which results in an automatic one-race suspension.

Max Verstappen realistic about Red Bull’s chances in Canada

As for whether it will affect his approach to the Canadian weekend, the 27-year-old Dutchman said: “It’s there, I can’t do anything about it, so we focus on the future and try to do our best each time. It doesn’t change my approach, and I can’t speak for others.”

When asked how much missing a race could penalize him, he replied: « Generally speaking, yes, missing a race isn’t ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. »

The Gilles-Villeneuve circuit has been quite successful for Max Verstappen in recent years, with three consecutive victories. But even if he hopes to repeat the feat in 2025, he is not as confident.

« I would like us to be as competitive as in the past, of course, but I think the situation is a bit different for us at the moment », acknowledged the Red Bull driver.

« I think a realistic goal would be to try to get on the podium and fight with Ferrari and Mercedes, which is already quite complicated for us. So we’re going to try that, he concludes.