Max Verstappen accepts culpability in controversial George Russell collision during the F1 Spanish GP

Max Verstappen has come out and accepted culpability in the controversial incident with George Russell in the F1 Spanish GP. The Dutch driver ended up ramming his Red Bull into the side of the Mercedes driver while trying to let him through during the race in Barcelona.

In the eyes of many, the move warranted a black flag. The incident was a culmination of a chain of events that didn’t go Verstappen’s way. It started with the driver finding himself on hard tires for the post-safety car period while everyone around him was on soft tires.

This was followed by incidents with Charles Leclerc and George Russell during the restart and then the team’s call for Max Verstappen to hand the position over to the Mercedes driver. The culmination of everything was the incident, and to the surprise of a few, Verstappen came out on social media and, in an indirect manner, admitted that he was wrong.

Heading into the F1 Canadian GP, the driver faced the media and was questioned about the incident again as he accepted his culpability for the incident. Talking to the media, including Motorsport, he said:

“Of course, like I said, it was not the right thing to do at the time. It was a misjudgement, clearly, in the corner, but you don’t need to go into full detail of why, how and what. Everyone makes mistakes in life. Everyone learns from them and we just move on.”

He added:

“It was just a very frustrating few laps in a row. I got driven into on the straight, I almost crashed already with the hard tyres. Then I got driven into in Turn 1. Then they tell me that I have to give the place back. I’m like, that makes no sense. So it was a lot of things that just came together.”

Max Verstappen not concerned by the potential race ban hanging over his head

Max Verstappen was questioned about the potential race ban hanging over his head, as he has now accumulated 11 penalty points, to which the driver said that he’ll continue to race the way he usually does. If the driver gets even one more point this weekend, he will be banned from the race in Austria, Red Bull’s home event.

Talking to the media about the penalty points and if they will play a role, the driver said (via Motorsport):

“No, nothing changed. Why should I? It is what it is. I was on eight points before and now it’s 11. I mean, I cannot just back out of everything. I’m just going to race like I always do. I trust myself.”

The driver is currently 49 points behind Oscar Piastri in the championship and while the race in Canada might not be the most suited to Red Bull, it would be interesting to see how he approaches the weekend.