Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen apology for red-mist clash
Max Verstappen apologised for George Russell incident, Red Bull say
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed Max Verstappen apologised to the team following his controversial clash with George Russell at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Russell came to blows at Turn 5 while battling for fourth place with three laps remaining after a late Safety Car restart resulted in a dramatic sprint finish in Sunday’s race at Barcelona.
The pair collided after Verstappen appeared to be letting Russell through as instructed by Red Bull following an earlier tangle at Turn 1, only for the Dutchman to drive into the side of Russell’s Mercedes.
Verstappen picked up a 10-second penalty for the incident which dropped the four-time world champion from fifth on the road to 10th.
Horner, who had not spoken to Verstappen when he addressed media including Crash.net in the direct aftermath of the grand prix, has since revealed his driver apologised for his actions in the team’s post-race debrief.
"Spain closes out the triple-header and we leave Barcelona frustrated that we didn’t take more from the race,” Horner wrote in a post on Instragram.
“As a team we attacked on the three-stop which was the better strategy and it was only the safety car which had us over. We would never have been as close to Lando if it wasn’t for the three-stopper.
"The safety car came out at the worst possible time for our strategy, we had the choice to stay out on older tyres or take the gamble with a new set of hard tyres. Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had. The result that followed was frustrating as it was looking to be an easy podium for Max and good championship points.
"Max apologised in the debrief for his incident with Russell. The SC also hurt Yuki’s race, he would’ve been very close if not in the points otherwise if you look at the trajectory he was on.
"But that’s racing. It can turn in a split second. It is one of the reasons we are all so captivated and in love with this sport. It was a tough weekend, but we will busy working hard over the next weeks to make some set-up improvements to the car and come back strong in Montreal.”
Max Verstappen accepts blame for George Russell clash
Writing in his own Instagram post on Monday morning, Verstappen admitted his clash with Russell was "not right” and had been fuelled by his frustration at Red Bull’s decision to pit him for hard tyres under the late Safety Car, as well as his contact with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the restart.
"We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the Safety Car came out," Verstappen wrote on social media.
"Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened.
"I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal."
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
