Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been the reigning champion of Formula 1 for the past four years. His name might be synonymous with winning, but this season has been difficult for the Dutch driver. The tensions over his lack of success seemed to spill over this weekend during the Spanish Grand Prix. During some difficult driving in the last six laps, George Russell of Mercedes and Verstappen made contact twice. It was the final collision that left Verstappen with a major penalty and one step closer to a possible race ban.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stayed at the top with Verstappen for most of the race. Things changed when a late-race technical problem caused a Safety Car to be sent out. Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen all took advantage and went to the pits for a fresh set of tires. New tires typically give drivers the advantage, but Verstappen was the only driver sent out with hards instead of softs. Soft tires are preferred because they offer more grip on the road, making them better for drivers looking to gain or keep position.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli had a major mechanical issue, sending him off the track just over a dozen laps before the end of the race. Drivers started behind the Safety Car for what seemed like too many laps. The Safety Car was out for two laps after the track was clear, causing commentators to question why the race hadn’t restarted. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton even went as far as to say they were wasting laps. The 66-lap race restarted on lap 61, causing a free-for-all between drivers trying to reach the podium.
The top three during the restart were Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Russell of Mercedes followed. Leclerc was able to make quick work of Verstappen after the Red Bull driver had a major snap during the restart. The major problems came when Russell entered the picture. A move to get ahead forced Verstappen off the track. He was able to keep his position, but he didn’t keep that lead for long. The Red Bull team came over the radio to instruct him to give up the position to Russell, assuming they’d get a penalty.
Verstappen’s frustration could be heard over the radio call after he was told to give up his position. He asked for the decision to wait until after the investigation into his reason for going off the track was finished, but the team denied him. Verstappen slowed down in what looked like an attempt to allow Russell in front of him. Instead, he took the opportunity to hit the side of the Mercedes. While Piastri, Norris, and Leclerc celebrate their podium wins, Verstappen is penalized for a purposeful collision and is pushed back from fifth place to tenth.
Verstappen officially received a 10-second time penalty for his collision with Russell. Three more points were also added to his license. Right now, he has 11 points. Once he reaches 12 points, he has a one-race Formula 1 ban. If that happens, it would ruin the already fading chances he has of defending his championship title. He sits in third place behind Piastri and Norris in the standings. Getting zero points for any of the upcoming Formula 1 races would mean he’s virtually out of championship contention.
I think that it’s obvious that the action that Verstappen made against Russell was intentional. Verstappen has even gone as far as to say his actions on the track were wrong. I believe frustrations wouldn’t have reached that point if Red Bull had waited for a verdict from race stewards. Documents from the governing body of Formula 1 show that they would not have forced Verstappen to give up his position. I also agree that the Safety Car wasted laps, which could have been used for better racing and more time reviewing incidents during the race.
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