Spanish GP: George Russell says Max Verstappen crash ‘felt deliberate’

BARCELONA, Spain — George Russell said Max Verstappen’s move on him felt deliberate and suggested the four-time world champion is a bad example for kids watching Formula 1.

Verstappen drove into the side of Russell’s car in the closing moments of the race after being asked to let the Mercedes driver back past, following an incident several laps earlier.

It was unclear whether Verstappen had driven into Russell intentionally or if he had attempted to let the Mercedes back past and then overtake again and simply misjudged the corner.

Russell was in no doubt which of those it was.

“It felt very deliberate, to be honest,” Russell said after the race. “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.”

When asked if Verstappen should have been disqualified, Russell said: “Honestly, I need to look back on it. If it was truly deliberate, then absolutely. Because you cannot deliberately crash into another driver. We’re putting our lives on the line. We’re fortunate the cars are as safe as they are these days, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. As I said, it’s down to the stewards to determine if it’s deliberate or not.”

When told about Russell’s comments when he arrived in the written media pen after, Verstappen simply said: “I’ll bring some tissues next time”.

Source: espn.com