Max Verstappen said Monday that frustration caused “a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened”, a day after he initially seemed unrepentant over his collision with George Russell at Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen had been asked by his Red Bull team to give up a place to Russell following an earlier incident between the two drivers when he hit Russell’s Mercedes.
The race stewards ruled Verstappen had “suddenly accelerated” before the collision and Russell said it “felt very deliberate”. The stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty which dropped him from fifth to 10th and left him 49 points off standings leader Oscar Piastri, who won Sunday’s race.
“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tire choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fueled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened,” Verstappen wrote on Instagram.
“I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you (at the next race) in Montreal.”
Initially in the aftermath of Sunday’s race, Verstappen had said that “next time I will bring a tissue”, responding to Russell claiming he set a poor example for young drivers.
A series of setbacks
The collision followed a series of setbacks for Verstappen, who had been in third and pressuring the two McLaren drivers in front before the safety car came out.
Red Bull decided to bring Verstappen into the pits for fresh tires, even though the only ones he had left were slower hard-compound tires, a type that no other driver used.
At the restart, Verstappen lost grip and was overtaken by Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari made contact with Verstappen’s Red Bull. Neither driver was ruled at fault for that.
Verstappen then went off the track while defending against Russell and Red Bull asked Verstappen to give up the place to Russell, apparently because the team expected Verstappen would be given a penalty. The stewards later ruled they wouldn’t have taken action against the Dutch driver for that incident.
Risking a suspension
Verstappen needs to be careful in the next two races because the penalty for the collision with Russell also brought him penalty points on his license, taking him to 11 in the last 12 months. Drivers get a one-race suspension if they hit 12 points in a year.
Two of those points expire at the end of the month, but until then Verstappen needs to get through the Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix without any further penalty points.
Max Verstappen blames frustration for a ‘move that was not right’ after colliding with Russell
https://arab.news/n8987
Max Verstappen blames frustration for a ‘move that was not right’ after colliding with Russell
- Verstappen says in a post on Instagram that “our tire choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fueled my frustration” before the incident
Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad claim difficult victories to close SPL Matchday 18
- Mailson makes nine saves as Al-Nassr edge past Al-Taawoun
- Defending champions Al-Ittihad get back on track with win against lowly Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: It was far from a comfortable night for Al-Nassr as they came up against an Al-Taawoun side that has been one of the surprise packages of the season under Pericles Chamusca. Ultimately, an own goal by Mohammed Al-Dossary proved enough to secure all three points for the hosts.
Al-Nassr started off in blistering fashion. Less than two minutes after kick-off, Cristiano Ronaldo rattled the crossbar with a volley after he was picked out by a long ball from Mohamed Simakan.
Moments later, the roles were reversed. Ronaldo delivered a floated free-kick over the back line, finding Simakan, who headed past Mailson, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag with the French defender marginally offside.
Fresh off leading Senegal to AFCON 2025 glory, Sadio Mané returned to the starting XI and immediately caused problems down the left flank. His combination play proved key, with a threaded pass in the 25th minute setting up Ronaldo for a dangerous chance that Mailson did well to beat away.
Mailson continued to frustrate the Al-Nassr attack, producing a fingertip save to deny Mané in the 43rd minute, after a moment of brilliance from Ronaldo down the left.
Mané finally found the breakthrough on the cusp of half-time, with a dipping cross aimed towards Ronaldo misdirected into Al-Taawoun’s net by Mohammed Al-Dossary.
The second half saw Al-Nassr push further in search of a second goal. A series of chances from João Félix, Ronaldo and Mané were stopped by the Al-Taawoun defence, with Mané also striking the post in the 58th minute.
Ronaldo thought that he had won a penalty after being brought down by Waleed Al-Ahmed in the 62nd minute, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside.
Despite being 1-0 down and facing the risk of slipping five points behind second place, Al-Taawoun showed little attacking intent, registering just three shots across the 90 minutes.
Al-Nassr remained on the front foot but were unable to find a second goal, as Mailson produced one of his best showings this season, making nine saves on the night.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad edged a 2-1 victory against 17th-placed Al-Okhdood in Jeddah following a dominant first-half display. Houssem Aouar netted the opener for the hosts before N’Golo Kanté powered in a second.
Burak İnce pulled one back for the visitors in the 59th minute as Al-Okhdood capitalised on Al-Ittihad’s relatively sluggish second half showing.
In Qassim, Al-Hazem pulled off a late 2-1 comeback against Damac to move further away from the relegation zone. The result lifts them into 11th place on 20 points as Damac remain 15th with just 11.
Matchday 19 gets underway on Tuesday, with Al-Ahli facing a stern test in Al-Ettifaq as they continue their pursuit of league leaders Al-Hilal. On Wednesday, Al-Hilal travel to Dammam, faced with the task of an in-form Al-Qadsiah side led by Brendan Rodgers.
