Max Verstappen has made a veiled apology for his violent collision with George Russell, admitting it “was wrong and shouldn't have happened”.
The four-time world champion was given a 10-second penalty by stewards for the incident with Russell with two laps remaining at Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
Russell said he believed Verstappen's actions were deliberate and accused the Red Bull driver of letting himself down. He also suggested Verstappen should have been disqualified for the incident.
Verstappen denied any wrongdoing after the race and even sarcastically offered Russell a napkin when informed of his British rival's criticism.
However, in a message posted on social media on Monday, Verstappen said: “We had an exciting strategy and a great race in Barcelona until the safety car came out.
“Our tyre choice at the end and some of the actions after the Safety Car restart added to my frustration, leading to a manoeuvre that was wrong and shouldn’t have happened.
“I always give it my all for the team, and emotions can run high. We win together, we lose together. See you (at the next race) in Montreal.”
Verstappen, on the slower Hard tyres, lost third place to Charles Leclerc after he opened the door for the Ferrari driver with a mistake on the exit of the final corner with six laps to go following the safety car.
Russell then attempted to get his Mercedes past Verstappen's Red Bull at Turn 1 before the Dutchman took the escape route and stayed ahead of the Briton.
“Max, please let Russell through?” asked Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
“What? I was ahead, mate. What the hell! He just ran me off the road.”
Verstappen slowed at Turn 5 to let Russell through but then accelerated and crashed into his rival's Mercedes.
“What the hell?” Russell said on the radio. Verstappen later gave way to Russell and crossed the line in fifth place.
However, stewards handed him a penalty, demoting him to 10th place, and added three penalty points to his licence, leaving him just one point away from disqualification. He now trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 49 points in the overall standings.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
