Russell Praises Verstappen’s Rare Apology as Penalty Leaves Champion One Point from Suspension

Max Verstappen’s late collision with George Russell in the Spanish Grand Prix cost him a podium, triggered a 10-second penalty, and—crucially—added three super-licence points to his record. With 11 points out of a possible 12, the Dutchman is now 92 percent of the way to an automatic one-race ban. Russell, who inherited fourth place after the incident, admitted he was “pleasantly surprised” that Verstappen publicly owned the mistake.

Until a safety-car restart eight laps from the flag, Verstappen had been running a comfortable third. But a snap of oversteer onto the main straight allowed Charles Leclerc and then Russell to draw alongside. Verstappen’s defensive squeeze into Turn 1 resulted in light contact, prompting stewards to impose the time penalty and licence points that ultimately dropped him to 10th.

The sanction further dented the reigning champion’s title defence: he now trails McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 49 points after nine rounds, while Russell has closed to within six. For context, the rest of the top five drivers combined have accrued just seven licence points this season. Verstappen insists he will “keep racing hard” in Canada and Austria—races he must finish without incident if he wants to avoid becoming the first driver banned since Romain Grosjean in 2012. Russell, meanwhile, believes the grid can exploit Verstappen’s precarious position: “If you keep driving on the limit, the system eventually punishes you.”

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