George Russell claims F1 ban for Max Verstappen “wouldn’t be unjust”

George Russell says it would be justified for Max Verstappen to receive an F1 race ban if he accumulates more penalty points.

Verstappen was given three penalty points on his super licence and a 10-second penalty for his controversial clash with Russell in the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix. The penalty demoted Verstappen to 10th on the road, acting as a blow to his hopes of winning a fifth straight drivers’ world title this year.

But arguably the bigger consequence is that the Red Bull driver is just one penalty point away from triggering an automatic suspension and must get through the next two races in Canada and Austria without incident.

Reflecting on the precarious penalty tightrope Verstappen finds himself walking, Russell told media ahead of the F1 Canadian Grand Prix: "If he gets to 12 points it [a ban] wouldn't be unjust.

“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.

"He was trying to run me off the road. I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. 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.”

Russell reveals private Verstappen chat

Russell revealed he briefly spoke to Verstappen when the pair bumped into each other at the airport when the Mercedes driver was on his way to watch the French Open at Roland Garros.

“That was quite funny to be fair and I did have a giggle about that,” Russell  said about Verstappen sarcastically offering him a tissue following their tangle in Spain.

"We bumped into each other at the airport on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros.

"To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his newborn [baby] , and we were at the security machine. He just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine.”

Asked whether he thinks Verstappen will change his notoriously-aggressive approach to wheel-to-wheel combat, Russell replied: "It depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? When you are going for a championship, it's slightly different.

"That's why I believe he wasn't intentionally trying to crash into me. He was just trying to get his elbows out and show who's boss.

"But he got it wrong. Jos [Verstappen's father] is the boss. I'm going to continue racing exactly the same way because at the end of the day that's what I did last week and I benefited from it.”