18/06/2025 14:45
2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg has stated George Russell's act of
braking behind the safety car was a response to Max Verstappen
being "cheeky". Towards the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, a
safety car was deployed following a clash between McLaren
team-mates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Russell held the lead
ahead of Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver briefly moved ahead of
his rival when Russell suddenly hit the brakes. It prompted a
post-race appeal from Red Bull, who took issue with Russell's
driving - however the protest was ultimately thrown out by the
stewards. Offering a perspective from a driver's point of view,
Rosberg has detailed lingering in the mirrors is not taken kindly
by other competitors. "When you're [behind] a safety car and you
see Max Verstappen being cheeky and trying to make you nervous by
making himself really big right next to you in that mirror, in the
exact spot where the mirror is facing, you don't like that,"
Rosberg told Sky F1 . "It really annoys you as a driver, like
deeply, deeply annoys you. From there, it's quite natural to say:
'You know what? Take this you sucker.' "So yes, he did want to hit
the brakes and give one back to Max there." The F1 stewards judged
Russell did not drive erratically, ensuring he kept his fourth
career win. Rosberg even suggested the decision to appeal the race
result was pushed by Verstappen. "I think also the fact that Red
Bull appealed, it wouldn't surprise me if that was pushed by
Max," he added. "Max got angry that George hit the brakes and tried
to get him into a penalty situation. "So Max was like 'I'm not
having that'. Let's ask his team to appeal to try and get him into
George in trouble. "It wouldn't surprise me. So we're seeing the
cat and mouse games continue, which is good."
