Verstappen blames "frustration" for ill-tempered Spanish GP conclusion

Verstappen blames “frustration” for ill-tempered Spanish GP conclusion

Max Verstappen has admitted he was affected by “frustration” during the controversial end to yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

But in a carefully-worded social media post he did not refer specifically to his collision with George Russell yesterday or indicate any responsibility on his part.

The stewards came down firmly against Verstappen after the pair made contact at turn five, ruling “the collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of car one.” They added three penalty points to Verstappen’s licence, leaving him on a total of 11, meaning he will receive an automatic ban if he collects a single further penalty point in either of the next two events.

Verstappen stonewalled questions over the incident on Sunday at the Circuit de Catalunya. It occured after Red Bull advised him to let Russell overtake him as they feared their driver was at risk of being penalised for leaving the track while defending his position from the Mercedes.

Although Verstappen slowed and allowed Russell to catch him at turn five, he then ran wide at the corner and made contact with the Mercedes. Asked after the race whether he was supposed to let Russell through, Verstappen told Viaplay: “That was the plan.” When it was put to him that Russell said the contact between the pair was unnecessary, he replied: “Yep. Maybe.”

In a social media post on Monday morning, Verstappen said he had been frustrated by the team’s decision to pit him and fit a set of hard tyres for the Safety Car restart. Verstappen had told the team he wanted to come in for “fresh tyres” when the Safety Car was deployed.

He also said he was aggravated by “some moves” after the race restarted. Verstappen was immediately passed by Charles Leclerc, the pair making contact as they did, then was attacked by Russell at turn one, where Verstappen went off the track.

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However Verstappen made no specific mention of Russell or the turn five incident in his statement.

“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, [until] the Safety Car came out,” he wrote.

“Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the Safety Car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened. I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high.”