F1 stewards side with Max Verstappen after George Russell incident at Spanish GP

Russell, Verstappen, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 stewards side with Max Verstappen after George Russell incident at Spanish GP

Max Verstappen and George Russell collided in Spain

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 2 June 2025 08:27 Updated: 16:01

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It has been confirmed that race stewards at the Spanish Grand Prix sided with Max Verstappen's concerns despite Red Bull telling him otherwise during the race.

Verstappen collided with Russell late on in the race, with the Dutchman appearing to intentionally crash into the Mercedes star after being told by his Red Bull team to let him through for fourth place.

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The resulting penalty - given to Verstappen at the end of the race - dropped him down to 10th in the pecking order, and he told media after the race that it 'doesn't matter' if the move to crash into Russell was intentional or not.

It was the second time in just a matter of laps that the pair had made contact, after they had come together into turn one after the safety car restart, with Verstappen heading off-track and staying ahead of Russell.

Red Bull told Verstappen to give the position back - as to avoid being given a penalty - something which ignited Verstappen's fury.

Now, it has been confirmed in an official statement from the stewards that there was no need for Verstappen to give the position back to Russell, ruling that it was his corner heading into turn one, and that no further action was taken on that particular incident.

"From the radio communications, it was clear that the driver of car 1 was asked by his team to ‘give the position back’ to car 63 for what they perceived to be an earlier breach by car 1 for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage (in fact, we had later determined that we would take no further action in relation to that incident)," the statement read.

Verstappen's damaging afternoon

Not only did Verstappen's penalty take away what would have been a very handy fifth-place result, it also has done him great damage in the drivers' championship battle.

Verstappen is now sat 49 points behind Oscar Piastri in the standings, after the Australian managed to secure his fifth win of the season in dominant fashion.

On top of this, Verstappen picked up three penalty points on his superlicence, taking him to 11 in the 12-month period. One more of those picked up in the next two races will mean a one-race ban for the four-time world champion.

The Dutchman's frustration may now be aimed at his team in the post-race discussions, after it was them who told him to give the position to Russell in the first place.

Russell's race result was unchanged, while another incident between Verstappen and Charles Leclerc near the end of the race was given a 'no further action' verdict.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA issue late punishment verdict as Max Verstappen owns up over Spanish Grand Prix clash