George Russell has said that if Max Verstappen receives a race ban, it would be fair and deserved, based on his recent reckless driving.
The British driver, who had previous incidents with Verstappen and clashed with him again at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, explained that he believes Verstappen was trying to intimidate him by swerving into his car.
“He was trying to push me off the track,” Russell said ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. “I don’t think he wanted to crash into me on purpose. I think he just misjudged what he was doing while trying to scare me.”
Russell added that he wasn’t looking for an apology and, in fact, ended up benefiting from the incident. “His actions hurt him, not me. So really, I should be thanking him,” he joked. “It would have been different if he had taken me out of the race, but at least he admitted he was wrong, which surprised me.”
Verstappen did not speak about the clash immediately after the race but later admitted on social media that his actions were a mistake. As a result, he was dropped from fifth to tenth place and received three penalty points on his super licence. That takes him up to 11 points. One more point within the next two races would mean an automatic one-race ban.
Russell commented, “If he gets banned, it wouldn’t be unfair. The points system exists for a reason. If you keep driving recklessly, you’ll eventually be punished.”
He said he doesn’t expect Verstappen to change his aggressive style much, especially because the stakes are so high in championship races. “I don’t think he’ll stop. He was just trying to show he’s in charge, but it backfired. His dad Jos is the real boss anyway!”
Russell also mentioned that he had a brief chat with Verstappen after the incident. “We ran into each other at the airport the next morning, just as I was heading to Roland Garros. He was with his baby and dealing with the pram at security, so we didn’t talk about the race.”
Verstappen now faces the risk of missing a race if he gets just one more penalty point, adding pressure ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
