Max Verstappen repeated his claim he is not allowed to be critical of stewarding decisions after being penalised in the Spanish Grand Prix.
The stewards handed the Red Bull driver a 10-second time penalty for colliding with George Russell during today’s race.Verstappen’s Red Bull team had erroneously advised him to let Russell past after the pair clashed at turn one earlier in the race. However after Verstappen backed off to allow Russell alongside him at turn five, he ran wide and collided with the Mercedes.
Russell accused his rival of deliberately causing the collision. However Verstappen refused to discuss the incident.
“I don’t need to say anything about it,” he told the official F1 channel. “It doesn’t matter anyway, we can’t be critical about anything.”
Verstappen gave the same reason when he refused to discuss another penalty after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. At the time this was seen as a reference to new rules regarding driver conduct introduced by the FIA. However the sport’s governing body has revised and softened those rules since then.
He endured a difficult end to the race after the Safety Car was deployed with 11 laps to go. While other drivers switched to soft tyres, Verstappen’s most suitable rubber was the hard compound.
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He almost lost control at the final corner after the restart and was passed by Charles Leclerc, then came under attack from Russell.
“I had a big moment there in the last corner,” he said. “Unfortunately, the hard tyres had very low grip, so that was quite painful.
“But basically we’d just run out of tyres. I mean, in hindsight, was it better to [not pit]? Maybe, I don’t know. It’s always easy to say afterwards. But because of those hard tyres you get into those situations.”
Penalty box
Did the stewards issue the correct penalty for Verstappen’s clash with Russell at turn five? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Verstappen's penalty for colliding with Russell was:
- No opinion (0%)
- Far too lenient (65%)
- Slightly too lenient (18%)
- Correct (13%)
- Slightly too harsh (2%)
- Far too harsh (2%)
Total Voters: 257
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2025 Spanish Grand Prix
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- Verstappen blames “frustration” for ill-tempered Spanish GP conclusion
- New front wing rule “changed nothing” says Norris after McLaren one-two
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
1st June 2025, 19:00
Probably need to take responsibility and stop being a child. He’s been way too overpamered in F1. Imagine if this was Schumacher.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
1st June 2025, 19:18
Dont have to imagine, he was just as bad, if not worse
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd June 2025, 8:54
Schumacher was the original icon of unsporty behaviour, Verstappen is merely following his lead.
mystic one (@mysticus)
1st June 2025, 19:31
was the move on George intentional?
Max: Does it matter?
does anything matter to Max other than win at all cost, pass on at all cost or prevent any overtake at all cost… he doesnt give a dam about any collusion with anyone, he had great relationship with lando who was probably his only friend in the whole field, he burned that bridge too… Even Lando in the first corner let him through thinking of WDC rather than messing with a petulantly man child
PeteB (@peteb)
1st June 2025, 20:21
@mysticus – That two completely different things. I actually respect the “win at all costs” mentality of Max even when it leads to him bending the rules. That’s what F1 has always been for me… Most champions have taken a similar mentality (even if Max is more extreme with it).
What he did today had nothing to do with winning. It had nothing to do with motorsport… He could have just kept the position and argued his case afterwards or he could have let Russell by just before the DRS line and tried to regain the position. It’s like comparing a footballer hand-balling the ball into the net and a footballer punching someone… There’s no advantage to be gained – he just lost his head.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 7:57
@mysticus I think he said Later that it was a error from his side.
Too me it looked he let George pass but wanted be as close to him as possible but his grip steering wasn’t there while the rears were. And he was to the left of that corner which is all most 180 turn.
MurasamaRA300 (@murasamara300)
1st June 2025, 20:42
Schumacher’s move on Villeneuve at Jerez in 1997 also got a penalty as I recall.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd June 2025, 8:54
They docked all of Schumacher’s points for the season. Which was irrelevant as he had already lost the WDC
RomTrain (@romtrain)
1st June 2025, 19:09
such a child
BLS (@brightlampshade)
1st June 2025, 19:12
It’s frustrating that a driver so great has the mindset of an 8 year old.
JacobC
2nd June 2025, 6:52
Well I mean look at his father. Case closed.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd June 2025, 9:00
Couldn’t agree anymore. This season he put himself firmly in the GOAT debate, but its impossible to support a driver with such a childish and unsportsman like behaviour. His arrogance and sense of entitlement is the only thing that surpasses his talent.
His father may have created a heck of a driver, but it was asking too much of Jos to make a half decent human being.
Palindnilap (@palindnilap)
1st June 2025, 19:18
“we can’t be critical about anything”
I am actually pretty sure drivers are still allowed to be critical about themselves, and it was a good occasion to exercise that right.
Applebook
2nd June 2025, 0:58
If he were capable of such self reflection, he wouldn’t do the things that he does.
We’ve all had moments of red mist and have snapped, but most of us realize afterwards that we screwed up and overreacted. We simply let our emotions get the better of us at that moment, but Max is incapable thinking this way. It’s actually quite sad. What must his personal life actually be like.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:00
@palindnilap according the rules No even yourself ….. But I think he wanted to say about being forced to give the place back by the RC (which never happened and wouldn’t but Red Bull & Max didn’t knew that)
Sham (@sham)
1st June 2025, 19:31
Imagine how good he could be if he had the intelligence to learn from his mistakes…
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd June 2025, 9:02
He does learn from race craft errors.. he just can’t learn from temparament mistakes. In his mind, he does nothing wrong. If you have Horner and Marko blowing smoke up your rear end and a father like Jos, what else would you expect?
Carl Parker (@mysticarl)
1st June 2025, 19:37
This side of Max is so frustrating, even more so because up to there he was faultless – he was basically right about Leclerc even if it was very 50/50, he was right about George into T1 and IMO should never have been asked to give the place back – I don’t think George was expecting it either, but to act like that – even when angry, that’s just not good enough. Just ignore the call to give the place back and argue later if you’re not happy about it.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
1st June 2025, 19:50
+1
Marcus
1st June 2025, 20:06
Erroneously? Why was it an error to ask him to let Russell by?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st June 2025, 22:20
The stewards later confirmed Verstappen was not at fault in the original incident with Russell and he did not need to let him by.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd June 2025, 3:09
That’s just bad by red bull, I also thought he was in the right, he was convinced it was wrong to let russell by and should’ve sticked to his convinction, they really ruined his race by letting russell by.
RomTrain (@romtrain)
2nd June 2025, 6:19
letting RUS by would have cost one place. He ruined it himself, first with a driving mistake at the restart, then with on purpose crashing into RUS
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
1st June 2025, 20:10
I wonder if he’d act differently if he was at a different team.
Have Red Bull enabled this version of Max or is it just down to him and something that’s hardwired in?
I’m pretty certain that Zak, Toto or one of the other more established Team Principals would call out behaviour like this.
Doggy
1st June 2025, 21:24
I said this in a different article. Redbull/Max as a team needs a complete reset. From drivers to CEO.
They need to go to different teams …explore and re-invent themselves as individuals.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
1st June 2025, 21:28
@sonnycrockett I am sure that Red Bull has been part of the enablement.
JacobC
2nd June 2025, 6:53
1,000,000%
No other CEO would tolerate this
Applebook
2nd June 2025, 0:59
Not just Red Bull, but Marko especially.
I hate to blame the parents, but look at the dad…
PeteB (@peteb)
1st June 2025, 20:15
As someone who has been a Max fan for several years – that was far, far too lenient. That wasn’t a mistake or someone being too aggressive or too reckless… That was a deliberate crash because he was angry. That should be an immediate black flag and a 1 race ban.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd June 2025, 3:10
Exaggerated, it didn’t even damage the cars in a noticeable way, far too harsh.
JacobC
2nd June 2025, 6:54
You must be a scary driver. He intentionally hit another car. He should’ve been shown the black flag.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:06
Sorry but IF he wanted George wouldn’t drive any further anymore. To me it looked he wanted to let George by but keep just near him to overtake him later. But with the hards his front couldn’t matched his idea while he rears could.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
1st June 2025, 21:10
If this was the first incident of its kind from Max, I’d say it was about right. Given he has an extraordinary history of causing incidents, and the recent example of deliberately driving Norris off the road in Mexico last year, I reckon this was far too lenient. I fear the day he does this in a high speed corner. We all know that day is coming.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:08
Silverstone 2021 type of ‘accident’ you mean? Not Max his style.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
1st June 2025, 21:36
Max is a very, very naughty boy and should be sent to bed without any supper.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
2nd June 2025, 0:53
It was an entirely unacceptable move by Max, but come on, lets not get carried away.
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd June 2025, 9:04
Or left at a gas station
w0o0dy
1st June 2025, 23:09
The whole situation stinks. Do 8 agree with the 10s and 3 penalty points. Yes, it may even be a mild punishment for a completely stupid action by Max.
But Leclerc gets to hit Max on a straight and it’s not even looked at?
Russell dives into a gap that makes an overtake 100% impossible AND he loses control of the car and touches Max’s car And shove Max off track and …. Of course not even investigated…
This reeks of foul play and bias against Max and RedBull
Carl Parker (@mysticarl)
1st June 2025, 23:15
well that’s wrong on both counts – both WERE looked at and both were deemed not punishment required.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
2nd June 2025, 1:03
Leclerc was investigated but didn’t get a penalty. He was ahead and on a straight the lead car is to an extent allowed to squeeze the the car behind. Verstappen also did squeeze Leclerc to the right only half a second earlier. The main difference was that Leclerc did move to the right and Verstappen refused to move left.
Russell vs. Verstappen into turn 1 was also investigated and Russell was deemed responsible for bumping into Verstappen. But no damage was done, Verstappen kept (rightfully) his place by going through the runoff, so there was absolutely no point in punishing Russell.
I don’t see any bias against Verstappen at all. On the contrary 10 seconds are actually pretty lenient as you said. It just went away from him with a difficult tire, the mistake, being passed, bumped into and erroneously demanded to give up the position. He just cracked and lost it, it’s human, but not an excuse for a potentially very dangerous foul.
w0o0dy (@w0o0dy)
2nd June 2025, 9:27
The bumping by LeClerc is the dangerous move. While ridiculous, the move Max did wasn’t.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
2nd June 2025, 10:46
I don’t agree that the move wasn’t dangerous. The drivers (not only Verstappen) are getting too used to bumping wheels these days because the cars are so strong. But it was quite a hefty whack and it’s not beyond the realms of possibilities that it could damage Russell’s tyre or suspension causing them to break under load in one of the three super high-speed right hand corners later in the lap sending Russell straight into the barriers.
Applebook
2nd June 2025, 1:03
You forgot to include the subpar breakfast that Max was served, and the mediocre night sleep that he bad before. All of these things add up to Max being mostly justified for his deliberate crash.
I love how Max’s defenders cannot help themselves but make excuses for his unacceptable actions. Even if Leclerc and Russell had rammed him off the road, there is NO justification for what Max did. Would George have been justified in crashing into Max intentionally afterwards? Of course not.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:10
Woody @mysticarl was right Max wouldn’t even needed to give his position back according the Stewards.
matt90
1st June 2025, 23:09
I also wouldn’t be critical of the judge who let me get away with murder.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
2nd June 2025, 1:11
I thought the punishment was too lenient even before the ‘does it matter’ comment. I also try to take into account his ‘somewhat’ understandable state of mind when he made that comment, but I still believe it compounds the problem.
It’s this type of attitude that made me dislike Max in his early days, and although I had admittedly warmed ‘slightly’ to him over time – he is undeniably an incredible driver – I am now half hoping he never wins another championship. I am put in mind of the old proverb “With great power comes great responsibility”.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:11
I found the penaulty 1 point too much but hell let keep making things up
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
2nd June 2025, 1:21
Sorry for the second post here, but one other thing comes to mind from the aftermath of that race.
I find myself a little torn between respecting the drivers for avoiding any inflammatory comments regarding the incident that, given the limited chance they had to assess the event, would clearly be subjective and potentially controversial. And the slightly over sanitised and PC situation we are presented with as the alternative.
I think I would welcome a compromise whereby the drivers voiced there opinion, but perhaps the interviewers could help caveat the views by forming questions that ensure the responses are not necessarily binding or irrevocable.
It’s probably my rose tinted glasses, but I feel that ‘in the old days (sigh)’ it was aften difficult to prevent drivers from contributing their 2 cents.
Jordan (@hunkulese)
2nd June 2025, 3:50
The end of that race was wild from Red Bull. Did every single person on the team lose their minds? From the hard tires, to Verstappen losing his mind because he hit Leclerc, to Red Bull not understanding the rules and telling him to give the position to Russell even though they never do that and it was maybe the first time Verstappen wasn’t at fault, to Verstappen finishing it all with the Mario Cart ram. Never seen such a complete bizarre collapse of an entire team like that.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd June 2025, 6:56
Honesty, who does he think he’s fooling with that claim that has zero foundation since no one is literally forbidden from doing so in the first place?
He should just be fully honest about his clear-cut deliberate act instead of totally not bothering to take any accountability for his actions over & over again, which does absolutely zero service for him, his team, or even family, for that matter.
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd June 2025, 8:17
@jerejj Do you know what he wanted to say …….. at that moment he wanted to curse RC for having letting George by.
Later when things were clear he said he maded a error and didn’t want to comment it further as it does nothing (for him)
That is the way of the Dutch zand erover en verder … (cover with sand and continue)