Formula 1: George Russell says late-race contact from Max Verstappen 'felt very deliberate'

George Russell and Max Verstappen made contact late in the Spanish Grand Prix. (Photo by Malcolm Griffiths - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Malcolm Griffiths - Formula 1 via Getty Images

Did Max Verstappen purposely run into George Russell near the end of the Spanish Grand Prix?

The Mercedes driver certainly feels that way. Verstappen and Russell made contact as Russell went for a pass on Verstappen for fourth late in the race won by Oscar Piastri. The two drivers had been racing hard for the position and Verstappen's Red Bull team had told him to let Russell past to avoid a potential penalty.

A safety car for Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli sent the cars at the front of the field to pit lane for fresh tires. Russell and most of the other frontrunners pitted for soft tires. Verstappen only had hard tires remaining. Those tires are more durable, but are slower at the start of a run and have less grip.

“It felt very deliberate, to be honest,” Russell said via ESPN. “"It's something that I've seen numerous times in sim racing and on iRacing. Never have I seen it in a Formula 1 race. So that was something new.

"It's a bit of a shame because Max is clearly one of the best drivers in the world. But manoeuvres like that are just totally unnecessary and sort of lets him down. It's a shame for all the young kids looking up, aspiring to be Formula 1 drivers.

"So, as I said, I don't know what he was thinking. In the end, I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I ultimately benefited from those antics."

Verstappen wasn’t too keen on talking about it after the race. The two drivers are not exactly on the best of terms. And that was a statement that would have been true before Sunday’s race.

Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident and finished 10th. He was also given a three-point penalty on his superlicense and now has 11 points. One more penalty over the next two races will get Verstappen banned for a race for exceeding the 12-month limit for points. Kevin Magnussen was suspended for a race a season ago for points accumulation.

Verstappen made four pit stops over the course of the Spanish Grand Prix and appeared to have a third-place car behind the McLarens of Piastri and Lando Norris. But the late restart and the penalty have put Verstappen at a huge disadvantage in the points standings.

Piastri is now 10 points ahead of Norris in the drivers’ standings and 49 points ahead of Verstappen as Verstappen goes for his fourth title in a row.