13/06/2025 15:40
George Russell has reacted to Max Verstappen's post-Spanish Grand Prix social media post in which he took accountability for causing the controversial clash with the Mercedes driver. Ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, the Briton has confirmed that he was a "bit surprised" to read the Dutchman's words a day after the incident in Barcelona, which moved Verstappen just a penalty point away from a ban. The four-time F1 champion received three penalty points and a 10-second time penalty for driving directly into Russell at Turn 5 of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, demoting him to 10th at the chequered flag. Despite the aggressive move, which some believe should have seen Verstappen black-flagged, Russell is confident the Red Bull driver was not trying to cause a crash. "He was trying to run me off the road. I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me," Russell told the media in Montreal. "He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. "Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising. I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him, and they benefited me. So I should be almost thanking him. "Obviously I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that." Verstappen's initial response in the media pen after the race caused further debate. Sarcastically, the 27-year-old offered his rival a tissue once informed of Russell's criticism. Remarkably, Russell was humoured by the comment and recently spoke to Verstappen at an airport. "That was quite funny to be fair and I did have a giggle about that. We bumped into each other at the airport a few days ago on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros," he revealed. "To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his newborn. And we were at the security machine. So he just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine."
