'Max Verstappen is a BULLY' as champion handed 'pathetic' penalty - Spanish Grand Prix hot takes

Verstappen and Russell to the FIA stewards after Qatar qualifying — Photo: © IMAGO

Spanish Grand Prix

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'Max Verstappen is a BULLY' as champion handed 'pathetic' penalty - Spanish Grand Prix hot takes

Max Verstappen seemed to intentionally crash into George Russell

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 1 June 2025 20:57 Updated: 13:38

Oscar Piastri claimed a stunning victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he was not the driver that everybody was talking about in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen once again grabbed the headlines by appearing to intentionally drive into the side of George Russell when being asked by his team to let the Mercedes driver back past, after another incident just a lap before.

F1 RESULTS: Max Verstappen FUMES as late safety car drama causes chaos at Spanish Grand Prix

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His frustration resulted in a 10-second time penalty being added post-race, demoting the four-time world champion down to 10th, while championship rivals Piastri and Lando Norris finished first and second respectively.

The incident may also have further implications down the road for Verstappen, as he now moves onto 11 penalty points on his superlicence over the last 12 months, with one more being picked up in the next two races set to result in a one-race ban.

The GPFans team have given their hot takes on the Spanish GP and - you guessed it - they were not happy with Verstappen's late collision with Russell.

GPFans' Spanish Grand Prix Hot Takes

Matt Hobkinson - Global Lead Editor

George Russell was right. Max Verstappen is a bully.

Every year Max grows on me as a person. He is a genuinely hilarious and polite young man, who also happens to be a one of the best drivers the sport has ever seen.

Which is why it blows my mind that he does things like that today. I get that he’s frustrated from the earlier contact, which was George’s fault. Then throw in Red Bull’s mad decision to give him hard tyres?!

But what on earth he is doing making contact with George like that I simply do not know.

There is zero place for that kind of thing in F1. Blaming it on red mist is one thing but Max now needs to apologise unreservedly and immediately. No excuses.

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

Picture it: You come around the corner in the lead. The finish line is in sight. You've had an excellent drive, leaving everyone behind in your wake. And then disaster. That old familiar sound. A blue shell comes down from the sky and explodes you and your race. Not again.

Everyone has felt that pain in Mario Kart at some time. But thankfully for Oscar Piastri, there are no blue shells in Formula 1. Even with the most spicy 'Ways to improve the Monaco GP’ suggestions, nobody has introduced Mario Kart-style powerups.

But a week after trying to improve Monaco, we had something straight out of virtual racing at the Spanish Grand Prix. Max Verstappen attempted a move straight out of sim racing on George Russell. That kind of rage might work in iRacing, but it definitely is not allowed on a real race track. Sorry, Max.

It could have been a lot worse for Russell. And it should have been a lot worse for Verstappen. A 10-second punishment? Pathetic. This is not motor racing. It's not even sim racing. It's a cop out.

Sam Cook - F1 Journalist

All the focus post-race will be on the bully that is Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman clearly intentionally driving into George Russell in a horrible incident that could have been much, much worse.

However, what Verstappen has done is taken himself out of championship-winning contention. How many times in the last four years have we been able to say 'I don't think Verstappen is going to be world champion this year'?

His own brilliance made him a contender for this year's championship in the first place, but his own petulance has been his downfall.

The Dutchman is now 49 points behind Oscar Piastri - a huge gap even at this early stage of the season, especially given McLaren's clear pace advantage over Red Bull.

What's more, Verstappen is now teetering on the edge of a one-race ban due to his awful incident involving Russell, and indeed, due to his dodgy driving tactics that have been present in the last 12 months since Red Bull's performance levels began to fall off.

Chris Deeley - F1 Journalist

Yeah alright Max, I'm frustrated too. I was frustrated that your team picked what seemed to be the wrong strategy at your final pit stop, I was frustrated that you were told to give a position back when you seemed to have been forced off, and I'm frustrated that we have another one-team title battle.

I'm also a little surprised. I'm surprised you cared about one non-podium place so much in a year when you've said you can't challenge for the title (were you telling little porkies? Did you still hope? I think you did), I'm surprised that your team seemed to make two conservative calls, and I'm really surprised that any fan or pundit who watched that race was shocked by what you did.

Has any on-track battle in your career not prepared them for this? Did they think that being a father would chill you out once you got behind the wheel? Did they think that you'd be gracious about it afterwards with the media, who you've constantly made it clear you see as a nuisance?

Take the week's break. Hang out with the family. Chill out with a couple of sim streams. Come back chirpy and smiley in Canada.

I mean, if they haven't suspended you by then.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes Oscar Piastri George Russell