Russell ‘surprised’ Verstappen ‘had taken responsibility’ for Spain collision

George Russell admits he was «surprised» that Max Verstappen «had taken responsibility» for their clash in Spain via social media, and that they hadn’t discussed the incident despite bumping into each other at the airport.

The Mercedes driver came to blows with Verstappen last time out in the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix, having gone wheel-to-wheel at Turn 1 after a Safety Car restart with Verstappen running off the track at Turn 1.

Having rejoined ahead of Russell, the Dutchman was told by his Red Bull team to let the Briton through, eventually backing off on the exit of Turn 4 before accelerating and colliding with Russell through the following left-hand turn.

The reigning World Champion eventually conceded the position and finished fifth on the road, but a 10-second penalty for the collision dropped him to 10th, as he later posted on Instagram the following day that it was «a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened».

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Speaking ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, Russell explained that he believed Verstappen was «just trying to get his elbows out and show who’s boss» rather than it being a deliberate, premeditated act and insisted there were no issues between the pair.

«Obviously it would have been a different feeling had it taken me out of the race but ultimately I benefitted from it and he was penalised,» said Russell.

«I was a bit surprised to see he had taken responsibility, so fine. But I haven’t spoken to him about it. We actually bumped into each other at the airport the other day but I actually completely forgot we crashed into each other a few days prior. No issues.»

As well as the time penalty, Verstappen was also handed three penalty points on his licence, which means he sits just a single point away from a one-race ban.

It means the Dutchman will need to make it through the Canadian and Austrian weekends without incident to avoid being left on the sidelines before two of those 11 points will be wiped after a 12-month period.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 12: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks on — Verstappen was handed penalty for his collision with Russell

When asked whether it was right the reigning World Champion might be forced to miss a race, Russell pointed out the regulations were the same for everyone.

«I think that’s how it should be in racing,» he explained. «At the end of the day if you take on risky moves and you get it wrong you get penalised and, if you get your points, you’ll be banned for a race.

«I’m not going to sit here and say X, Y, Z because it’s ultimately not really my problem. It’s his problem. I’m looking forward to the weekend and then go from there. That’s racing.»

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Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen was also asked about the incident and how being on the brink of a ban would change his approach this weekend.

«There’s nothing I can do about it so we just focus ahead and try to do the best we can every single time,» he said. «It’s not changing my approach and I cannot speak for others.

“If you look at it in general, yeah, missing a race is not ideal but it’s not the end of the world.”