George Russell believes Max Verstappen is the only Formula 1 driver capable of making what he described as a “fairly deliberate” move during their late-race clash at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix.
The British driver ended the race in fourth place ahead of the Dutchman, before a 10-second time penalty bumped Verstappen down the order to 10th place.
On a three-stop strategy, Red Bull gave it everything to try and take the fight to McLaren until a Safety Car flipped the Grand Prix on its head.
With no Soft tyres left, Verstappen was forced onto the Hards, which left him vulnerable to the cars behind at the restart.
Immediately, Charles Leclerc got past Verstappen after his slide into the final corner, before Russell made contact with the Red Bull into Turn 1.
The reigning World Champion went off track and was ordered to give the place back to the Mercedes driver, but he didn’t fully comply.
Into Turn 5, he momentarily let him by before banging into the sidepod of the W16, resulting in his penalty.
After the race, Russell delivered his thoughts on the heated moment, insisting the move was something you would only see in sim racing.
“It felt very deliberate, to be honest,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s something that I’ve seen numerous times in sim racing and on iRacing.
“Never have I seen it in a Formula 1 race; so that was something new.
“It’s a bit of a shame because Max is clearly one of the best drivers in the world, but manoeuvres like that are just totally unnecessary and sort of lets him down.
“It’s a shame for all the young kids looking up, aspiring to be Formula 1 drivers.
“So, as I said, I don’t know what he was thinking.
“In the end, I’m not going to lose sleep over it because I ultimately benefited from those antics.”
Tensions rekindled between Russell and Verstappen after fresh flashpoint
The pair famously clashed at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, when Verstappen took issue with Russell’s attempts to influence the stewards into handing him a penalty.
While it had seemed the tension had cooled in 2025, their latest run-in suggests old animosities may be resurfacing.
When asked if he felt Verstappen had a personal issue with him, he added: “I honestly don’t know, to be honest, it just seemed all very strange and bizarre.
“I really don’t know what was going through his mind.
“As I said, it’s something that you’ve seen before in simulator races and go-karting, but never in F1.
“It doesn’t really make sense to deliberately crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car, risk a penalty.
“He could have come back fighting for [a] podium.”
Pressed on whether any other driver on the grid would’ve done the same, Russell was clear: “Not in Formula 1.”
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