Max Verstappen has no regrets about his action on George Russell in the final phase of the Grand Prix of Spain. The Dutchman received a ten-second time penalty after he appeared to intentionally drive into the Mercedes driver.
“In life, you shouldn’t have too many regrets, you only live once,” Verstappen said in the paddock of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. “I don’t have that today either.”
The 27-year-old Verstappen let his frustrations run free when he was instructed to let Russell pass in the final phase of the race. He first seemed to move aside for the Brit, but then steered into Russell.
Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty for this and fell back from fifth to tenth place. The four-time champion denied that he deliberately steered into Russell.
“It was a misjudgment,” he continued. “There’s no point in talking about it further. Everyone has their own vision on it. Am I going to talk to George? No. I have nothing to say.”
Verstappen drove on slower tires in final phase
Verstappen was already frustrated in his car before that moment. During a late safety car, he made a pit stop and Red Bull put him on the hard tire. All the other cars around him were on soft tires, causing Verstappen to see a podium finish slip through his fingers.
“I haven’t spoken to the team yet, so I don’t know why that happened,” Verstappen said. “But that’s also racing. In hindsight, we might have stayed out, but even then you don’t know what would have happened.”
In the World Championship standings, number three Verstappen is 49 points behind World Championship leader Oscar Piastri. The Formula 1 season continues in two weeks with the Grand Prix of Canada.