Red Bull slammed for ‘kindergarten’ behaviour with George Russell protest

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has accused Red Bull of “kindergarten” behaviour in protesting the Canadian Grand Prix result.

Hours after beating Max Verstappen to take Mercedes’ first victory of the campaign, George Russell was called before the stewards after Red Bull lodged a protest, claiming he had “displayed unsportsmanlike intent”.

This complaint referred to Russell’s driving under the late-race Safety Car following a clash between the McLaren drivers when he appeared to suddenly slow down in front of Verstappen.

Red Bull’s protest was ultimately dismissed by the stewards and their approach did not impress seven-time F1 grand prix winner Montoya.

“I think if George really stood on the brakes and stopped the car on purpose, and Max passed because of it, then they should look at it,” Montoya told CasinoHawks.

“But it's like a kindergarten thing. Why are you protesting something? That's like the fights that you could hear before on the radio when the team owners’ radios were open with the FIA.

“You could hear Toto and you could hear Horner going at it, like yapping to the teacher. It's so much better now without listening to all that.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff labelled Red Bull’s protest as “petty” and “embarrassing”.

F1 race ban threat is affecting Verstappen

Montoya also believes Verstappen has been impacted by the threat of a race ban looming over him.

The Dutchman is just one penalty point away from triggering an automatic suspension and must navigate through the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix without incident.

While Montoya praised Verstappen for how he handled events in Canada, the Colombian feels the precarious situation has played on the Dutchman’s mind.

“The prospect of a ban is affecting how Max drives,” Montoya added.

“The last thing Max needs right now is not to race. Max had the pace to maybe have a go at George. He was ahead of the McLaren.

“He was scoring points. And I'm pretty sure there was an intense conversation at Red Bull about how he needed to handle himself at the weekend. There’s no way they went business as usual.

“The conversation would have gone along the lines that publicly we're raising as usual, but Max, we cannot afford any mistakes. We cannot afford to give up a driver's championship because of a sanction. Just bring it home.

“He had a good start, but he never attacked, he never pushed. Normally, you see Max on the first lap being all out, and he wasn't. He was very controlled emotionally in the way he managed the race.”