Red Bull star Max Verstappen hit with huge F1 penalty after ridiculous crash

Max Verstappen in front of the FIA flag — Photo: © IMAGO

Spanish Grand Prix

Max Verstappen hit with huge F1 penalty after ridiculous crash

The Spanish GP produced some stunning moments

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 1 June 2025 17:23 Updated: 13:46

The FIA have announced a severe penalty for Max Verstappen after the chequered flag fell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

That penalty knocked Verstappen down from fifth to tenth in the final standings, a direct result of him appearing to deliberately run into the side of George Russell's car out of frustration.

Heading down the main straight, both Charles Leclerc and Russell looked to be getting past Verstappen after he had suffered a snap of oversteer, but he and Russell touched.

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They then collided once again when Verstappen was told by Red Bull to let Russell past him, and then sped up once more and appeared to purposefully touch wheels with the Mercedes star.

In the immediate aftermath of the race finish, Verstappen was slammed with a 10-second time penalty by FIA race stewards, demoting him all the way down to 10th in the Spanish GP.

Rosberg: Verstappen penalty was very lenient

It also means that Verstappen has lost out massively in his drivers' championship battle, with Oscar Piastri winning the race and the other championship protagonist Lando Norris coming home in second.

Verstappen is now 49 points behind Piastri in the drivers' championship, as hopes of a fifth consecutive title begin to fade.

Live on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast, Nico Rosberg claimed that Verstappen should have been more heavily punished for his collision with Russell.

"That's a very lenient one from my point of view," he said following the announcement of Verstappen's 10-second penalty. "Remember Sebastian Vettel against Lewis Hamilton in Baku 2017."