“I don’t understand why Max Verstappen was that mad": F1 insider left befuddled by Red Bull driver's actions during Spanish GP

Spanish journalist Jesus Balseiro slammed Max Verstappen following his Spanish GP actions against George Russell. Balseiro, in his recent interview, questioned Verstappen's action on Russell, and stated it was 'meaningless.'

Verstappen had a day to forget at the recently concluded 2025 Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona. The Red Bull driver, who started his race from P3, ended up in P10 after a series of late events. It all started with the safety car triggered by Kimi Antonelli, who lost control and went out of the track.

Taking the SC window, Red Bull pitted Verstappen with the Hard tire, a choice the Dutchman denounced immediately. However, he continued to race, but once the restart took place, he slid and lost control for a moment, putting Charles Leclerc at an advantage.

Leclerc, as a result, took the opportunity to overtake Verstappen, and Russell was next in line. However, the Red Bull driver seemingly took a dive outside the track to keep his position and deny Russell the overtake. But the Red Bull team immediately asked Verstappen to give the place back to Russell.

Upon hearing the team's instruction, Verstappen immediately questioned the order, and a few moments later, on Lap 64, he made contact with Russell's Mercedes. The Stewards took cognizance of the incident and slammed Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty.

Talking about Verstappen's action from the Spanish GP in the F1 Nation podcast, Balseiro said:

“It doesn’t look smart to lose a P5 on merit which could have been a P3. I don’t understand why Max was that mad. The situation with Red Bull, having a set of hard tyres and having to give back the position… maybe this was a situation which wasn’t well played by Red Bull.

Max Verstappen finished the race in P5, behind George Russell, but ended up in P10 following the time penalty. Oscar Piastri won the race ahead of his teammate, Lando Norris, while Charles Leclerc wrapped up the final podium place.

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George Russell hit out at Max Verstappen after Spanish GP

George Russell, who was involved with Max Verstappen in the Spanish GP incident, shared his thoughts on the latter's on-track action. Speaking about the incident, here's what the British driver said in the post-race interview:

George Russell and Max Verstappen at the F1 Grand Prix of Spain - Source: Getty

"Totally unnecessary and sort of lets him down. I don't know what he was thinking. It doesn't really make sense to deliberately crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car, risk a penalty. In the end, I'm not going to lose sleep over it because I ultimately benefited from those antics."

As a result of the incident, Max Verstappen also received three penalty points, which took his overall 12-month period tally to 11. Another penalty point in the next two races will force the Dutch driver to miss a race.

Edited by Sumeet Kavthale