Russell: 'Unnecessary' Max crash felt deliberate

BARCELONA, Spain -- George Russell said Max Verstappen's determination connected him felt deliberate and suggested the four-time satellite champion is simply a atrocious illustration for kids watching Formula 1.

Verstappen drove into the broadside of Russell's car in the closing moments of the race aft being asked to fto the Mercedes operator backmost past, pursuing an incidental respective laps earlier.

It was unclear whether Verstappen had driven into Russell intentionally oregon if helium had attempted to fto the Mercedes backmost past and past overtake again and simply misjudged the corner.

Russell was successful nary uncertainty which of those it was.

"It felt precise deliberate, to beryllium honest," Russell said aft the race. "It's thing that I've seen galore times successful sim racing and connected iRacing. Never person I seen it successful a Formula 1 race. So that was thing new.

"It's a spot of a shame due to the fact that Max is intelligibly 1 of the champion drivers successful the world. But maneuvers similar that are conscionable wholly unnecessary and benignant of lets him down. It's a shame for each the young kids looking up, aspiring to beryllium Formula 1 drivers.

"So, arsenic I said, I don't cognize what helium was thinking. In the end, I'm not going to suffer slumber implicit it due to the fact that I yet benefited from those antics."

When asked if Verstappen should person been disqualified, Russell said: "Honestly, I request to look backmost connected it. If it was genuinely deliberate, past absolutely. Because you cannot deliberately clang into different driver.

"We're putting our lives connected the line. We're fortunate the cars are arsenic harmless arsenic they are these days, but we shouldn't instrumentality it for granted. As I said, it's down to the stewards to find if it's deliberate oregon not."

When told astir Russell's comments erstwhile helium arrived successful the written media pen after, Verstappen simply said: "I'll bring immoderate tissues adjacent time".

On apical of the penalty, stewards handed Verstappen 3 punishment points connected his ace licence -- which leaves the Dutchman 1 constituent distant from a contention ban.

Verstappen has 11 points connected his ace licence successful total, with F1's rules stating that 12 successful a 12-month play volition effect successful a single-race suspension.

Two of Verstappen's 11 points volition expire erstwhile they go 12 months aged connected June 30, meaning Verstappen indispensable debar immoderate penalties implicit the adjacent 2 races successful Canada and Austria successful bid to summation other breathing country for the remainder of the season.

Nico Rosberg, the 2016 satellite champion and present a pundit for Sky Sports, said Verstappen should person been black-flagged and disqualified for what looked to him similar intentional retaliation for the earlier contact.

When watching the footage backmost successful the chill down room, the apical 3 drivers could hardly judge their eyes.

Charles Leclerc: "Oh my god."

Oscar Piastri: "Yikes."

Lando Norris: "I've done that earlier ... successful Mario Kart."

Verstappen, meanwhile, did not privation to notation the incidental directly.

"Does it substance [if interaction with George was intentional]?" helium said to Sky Sports. "I similar to talk astir the contention than conscionable 1 azygous moment.

"We are mode excessively dilatory immoderate mode to combat for the title, I deliberation that was wide again today.

"We tried to bash a three-stop," helium continued. "I thought it was rather bully and it was rather racy, and we besides needed it due to the fact that we had rather a spot of degradation connected the tires.

"I deliberation that was bully but unluckily the information car came retired astatine the extremity and we fundamentally ran retired of tires and the hard tyre was intelligibly not the close tire.

"When you lone person six laps to spell everyone tin spell level retired and I was severely grip constricted connected the hard."