12/06/2025 20:19
George Russell believes a race ban for Max Verstappen would be
deserved following thier controversial clash in Spain. Verstappen
was handed three penalty points by F1 stewards for ramming into
Russell after a late restart, the Red Bull driver feeling aggrieved
after Russell forced him wide at Turn 1 two laps prior. This moved
Verstappen to 11 penalty points, one away from the 12 which
triggers an automatic race ban with his next set not due off until
June 30th. Addressing the situation, Russell felt a ban would "not
be unjust" after the latest incident involving him and Verstappen,
which included a war of words in Abu Dhabi in 2024 following a
penalty for the Dutchman in Qatar. "If he gets to 12 points, [a
ban] wouldn't be unjust," Russell told media in Montreal. "At the
end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you
keep driving recklessly, you will accumulate points and get
punished with a race ban. "You've got it in your own hands, and it
doesn't go without risk. Heading into the weekend in Canada,
Verstappen must navigate this weekend and Austria next time out
penalty-free to avoid a ban, becoming the first reigning world
champion to be suspended from a grand prix. Russell felt that the
rest of the field would "have to be smart" and use the situation to
their benefit. "We have to be smart and use it to our advantage,"
he added. "I'm going to continue racing exactly the same because at
the end of the day, that's what I did last week, and I benefited
from it. "As we said, if you do keep driving like that, you'll
accumulate your points and you'll get punished. Ultimately, he got
punished for it, so from my side, kind of long may it continue and
for a neutral, it spices things up a little bit."
