Max Verstappen accused of “very deliberate” collision by F1 rival

There was a dramatic finish at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday as Oscar Piastri beat Lando Norris to clinch victory in Barcelona. But much of the post-race conversation centers around Max Verstappen and a controversial collision with George Russell.

The incident came in the closing stages when Verstappen took a Turn 1 exit road to keep his place during a late Safety Car period. As a result, Verstappen was ordered to slow and give fourth place to Russell.

Verstappen initially appeared to do as instructed, before driving into the side of Russell as he attempted to pass. Russell eventually got past a couple of corners later but stewards dished out a ten-second penalty to Verstappen.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Russell was furious with Verstappen’s driving.

“It felt very deliberate, to be honest,” Russell said. “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 maneuvers 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.”

For his part, Verstappen did not exactly reject the claims. When told of Russell’s allegations, Verstappen replied: “I’ll bring some tissues next time.”

“Does it matter?” Verstappen said, when asked whether the contact was intentional. “I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment... We are way too slow any way to fight for the title, I think that was clear again today.”

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