Max Verstappen declined to say whether he supported Red Bull’s protests against George Russell following the last round in Canada.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff derided his rival’s attempt to strip Russell of victory as “petty”, “ridiculous” and “embarrassing.” He also suggested Verstappen, who finished second to Russell in Montreal, did not support them.
Asked ahead of this weekend’s race whether he did, Verstappen refused to give any answer. “I think everything has been said about Montreal,” he said. “At least, I have nothing to add from that race.”
Red Bull originally brought two protests against Russell. It withdrew one, which related to a claim Russell repeatedly fell more than 10 car lengths behind the Safety Car, and persisted with another, which the stewards rejected. The team has protested Russell on three occasions so far this season, having done so previously in Miami, also without success.
Verstappen heads into this weekend’s race still at risk of triggering an automatic ban if he collects another penalty point on his licence. Asked whether he feels F1 has become excessively regulated he replied: “I’m not going comment on that. I cannot risk a penalty point.”
He gave a similar response when asked whether penalty points should only be issued for potentially dangerous incidents. The FIA’s penalty points guidelines do not specify penalty points for breaches of the rules regarding drivers’ comments.
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Verstappen’s comments which prompted Red Bull’s protests
| Lap: 68/70 VER: 2’05.276 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | After turn 10 The Safety Car is driving really slow, what is he doing? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Russell slows and Verstappen briefly passes him before dropping behind again George suddenly just aggressively braked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Understood, thank you. We will check for any erratic driving. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 69/70 VER: 2’03.745 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | We can see that on our data stream as well, Max. Thank you for the info. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Russell drops back from the Safety Car, then accelerates That’s more than 10 car lengths also, there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Okay, we will check that as well, thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Yeah, that incident with Russell now being shown on the feeds Max. So, pretty blatant. Just don’t fall for the gamesmanship, okay? Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Safety Car through the pit lane, Max. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 70/70 VER: 2’06.683 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Russell drops back from the Safety Car, then accelerates Again, more than 10 car lengths, what is he doing? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Verstappen | Way more than 10, look at this! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lambiase | Yes, thank you Max. We’ll have a look. Cheers mate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Verstappen’s penalty points
| Date | Event | Session | Infringement | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/6/2024 | Austrian Grand Prix | Grand prix | ‘Collision between Car 1 and Car 4 in turn 3.’ | 2 |
| 27/10/2024 | Mexican Grand Prix | Grand prix | ‘Forcing another driver off the track.’ | 2 |
| 2/11/2024 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Sprint race | ‘The driver was above the minimum time at VSC End.’ | 1 |
| 1/12/2024 | Qatar Grand Prix | Qualifying | ‘Car 1 drove unnecessarily slowly on a cool down lap.’ | 1 |
| 8/12/2024 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Grand prix | ‘Car 1 caused a collision with Car 81 in turn 1.’ | 2 |
| 1/6/2025 | Spanish Grand Prix | Grand prix | ‘Car 1 collided with Car 63 at turn 5.’ | 3 |
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2025 Canadian Grand Prix
- Verstappen refuses to say whether he supported Red Bull’s latest Russell protests
- No change to McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ after Canadian GP collision – Piastri
- The driver and car explanations for how Piastri turned the tables on Norris
- Ferrari made “decent recovery” after poor start but must improve more – Vasseur
- Wolff’s objective is clear in slating Red Bull but sparing Verstappen
