Verstappen triggers scandal: anger maneuver against Russell in Spain!

Verstappen triggers scandal: anger maneuver against Russell in Spain!

In today's Grand Prix of Spain, there was a serious incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell, which dominated the headlines in motorsport. Verstappen overtook Russell for a tangible anger maneuver during the race and first let him drive past before accelerating and touching him hard shortly before a curve. The campaign led to a high degree of controversy and discussions among analysts and fans. Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport consultant, explained the maneuver as a "misjudgment" of Verstappen, while at the same time emphasizing that he did not want to criticize too much. In the service show "Sport and Talk from the Hangar-7", moderator Christian Nehiba and expert Christian Klien described the maneuver as a clear "Rempler".

The frustration of Verstappen about the performance of his car was obvious. He admitted that the vehicle was too slow and was three tenths per round behind the McLaren, which significantly impaired his journey. Marko steered the focus on the pent -up pressure, the Verstappen felt until shortly before the end of the race. In his position after a late Safety car phase, Verstappen even had chances for the podium, but was thrown back by slow tires that he had available. After the collision with Russell, Verstappen received a ten-second penalty and was ultimately considered tenth. From the top of the driver's ranking, he fell to a gap of 49 points behind the leading world championship, Oscar Piatri.

Verstappen comments on the collision

After the race, Verstappen commented on a collision with Russell and showed through that he felt no remorse for the incident. He even brought handkerchiefs for his competitor and indicated the heated situation. Russell, in his part, was surprised by Verstappen's maneuver and expressed that it felt like a conscious intention. He also criticized the behavior of Charles Leclerc, who caused another ribble after the restart.

Red Bulls Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko said that Verstappen reacted dissatisfied with Leclerc and Russell in this critical phase due to the frustrating tire and race exit situation. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff announced that he would like to examine the reasons for displacing behavior more precisely. These incidents were critically commented by Ralf Schumacher and Nico Rosberg in the media, with Rosberg demanding a disqualification for Verstappen and describing the collision as unacceptable.

statistics and effects

In terms of statistics, it should be mentioned that Verstappen has a previously impressive course of the season, but now has to accept a gap to the PIISTRI World Cup leader. His record from 2023, in which he scored the most points in one season with 575 points, he no longer seems to be able to defend if he does not find the lane back soon. He had shown some impressive achievements during the latter races, including most of the management rounds and leadership kilometers in one season. Nevertheless, the collision with Russell and the subsequent punishment throws a bad light on the next time in his career.

The next races will show whether Verstappen can fight back at the top and whether the rivalry with Russell and other drivers will be more intense, while the race for the world championship title is becoming increasingly exciting this season.