Max Verstappen was demoted to 10th at the Spanish Grand Prix following a dramatic late collision with George Russell, where the four-time Formula 1 world champion appeared to deliberately ram into the Mercedes driver.
Verstappen was running third after a Safety Car but was overtaken by Charles Leclerc and almost by Russell into Turn 1.
The Dutchman was aggrieved by both Leclerc and Russell’s conduct and after Red Bull told him to give back fourth position to Russell, he appeared to lift off to let Briton through but then crashed into his car’s sidepod.
A bewildered Russell got ahead a few corners later.
The stewards didn’t take long to penalise Verstappen, and a 10-second penalty dropped him from fifth on the road to 10th — his worst finish since the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
When watching the footage back in the cool down room, the top three drivers could barely believe their eyes.
Leclerc: “Oh my god.”
Oscar Piastri: “Yikes.”
Lando Norris: “I’ve done that before … in Mario Kart.”
Source: espn.com