Max Verstappen was defiant in his post-race comments following a controversial late-race incident with George Russell at the 2025 Spanish GP.
The incident resulted in a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points on his super licence.
The collision occurred in the final laps after a Safety Car restart. Verstappen, instructed by Red Bull to give the position back to Russell for an earlier incident, appeared to slow down before accelerating into the Mercedes at Turn 5.
The stewards determined Verstappen was at fault and handed down the penalty, which dropped him from P5 to P10 and added three penalty points to his record — bringing his 12-month total to 11, just one away from a race ban.
Verstappen reacts dismissive
Asked about the clash, Verstappen kept his answers brief in the media pen:
“Does it matter?”
Pressed further about the moment and its consequences for his title chances, Verstappen said:
“Yeah, okay, that’s great. I mean, I prefer to speak about the race than just one single moment.
“If there are any [title chances]. So, I think we are way too slow anyway to fight for the title. I think that was clear again today.”
Looking at the strategy
Reflecting on Red Bull’s overall performance, Verstappen said the team’s strategy had potential but was ultimately undone by tyre degradation and an ill-timed Safety Car at the Spanish GP:
“Yeah, we tried to do a three-stop and I think it was quite good. It was quite racy, but we also needed it because we had actually quite a bit of degradation on the tyres. So I think that was good.
“Unfortunately, of course, the Safety Car came out at the end and we basically ran out of tyres to use. And the hard tyre was clearly not the right tyre. I mean, when you only have six laps to go, everyone can go flat out. And yeah, I was severely grip-limited on the hard.”
Verstappen acknowledged that, in hindsight, staying out during the Safety Car might have been the better call:
“Afterwards, yeah, I mean, we have to look at it again. Of course, new tyres or at least fresh tyres, they do make quite a bit of a difference as well. So I think no one really expected maybe that the hard tyre was so poor.
“But yeah, when it was only six laps, maybe it would have been better to stay out, yes. But that’s, of course, a bit easier to say right now.”
Perception of the fans
Tensions ran high during the final laps at the Spanish GP as Verstappen vented frustration on the radio and tangled with Russell. When asked whether the frustration inside the car influenced his actions, Verstappen again played it down:
“Is it?”
And when pressed about the impact on how fans perceive him, Verstappen offered a blunt conclusion:
“Well, that’s your opinion of it. We’ll leave it there.”
With 11 penalty points now on his licence, Verstappen stands on the brink of a one-race ban. Given the calendar ahead, any further infraction could see the reigning champion sidelined. The next race will be a crucial test, not just for his title hopes, but for his ability to keep it clean under pressure.
