Max Verstappen was once again at the center of controversy during the Spanish Grand Prix, as he had a coming together with George Russell in the closing laps of the race, resulting in a 10-second time penalty and dropping him to 10th place, where he picked up just one point.
However, Nico Rosberg doesn’t seem to think his penalty was fair. Verstappen, who looked to drive into Russell after the two had come together earlier in the lap, was slammed by the former World champion for his move, who believed the 10-second penalty was not enough for the severity of the incident.
Nico Rosberg slams Max Verstappen for his conduct
Rosberg was quick to give his opinion on the controversial incident involving Verstappen and Russell. In his interview, he commented, “It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1.” Versteppen’s frustration grew at the start of lap 64 as his team told him to give the place back to Russell.
The 4-time world champion continued to show his frustration at turn 5 on track as he looked to let Russell through before speeding up and making contact with the Brit and retaking 4th place on the road. Rosberg continued with his assessment on this, adding, “That’s something which is extremely unacceptable, and I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that’s a black flag.”
⚫| Nico Rosberg reflects on Verstappen’s crazy move on Russell:
“It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1.
“That’s something which is extremely unacceptable and I think…
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 1, 2025
After the race, Verstappen was deemed to have ’caused a collision’ and was handed a 10-second time penalty. This saw him drop from P4 on the road to P10 on the grid. In addition to this, he was also given 3 penalty points to his super license, bringing it to 11, ONE POINT away from a race ban.
Christian Horner hits back at Rosberg’s comments
Christian Horner was quick to hit back at Rosberg and defend his driver over the German’s comments, labelling him a ‘sensationalist’. When asked for a response in an interview to the Germans’ comments, Horner said, “Nico is quite sensationalist in the way that he commentates, so I’ll leave it at that.”
Horner was then further pushed for an answer on a potential looming race ban, he replied, “You know, you can never guarantee anything, I mean, he’s just got to keep his nose clean in the next couple of races, and then the first points come off at the end of June.”
Max Verstappen Faces Race Ban Threat After Spanish GP Penalty
The Red Bull chief was finally asked if the ‘red mist’ had descended upon Verstappen, a claim in which Horner would not fully deny, “It was clear that you could hear he was frustrated, and he didn’t agree with both Charles or George,”. Max Verstappen will have two penalty points removed at the end of June, which leaves him two races to navigate with no incidents to avoid reaching that 12-point limit.
