Verstappen Apologised for Russell Clash After Spanish GP, Horner Confirms

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that Max Verstappen apologised to the team in the immediate debrief following the Spanish Grand Prix for his late-race incident involving Mercedes driver George Russell. The reigning world champion received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points on his licence for the collision which occurred in the closing stages of the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The bizarre incident unfolded after a Safety Car period, which significantly impacted the strategic landscape. Verstappen, having pitted for the only available fresh tyre compound – the hard – found himself battling for position. After being overtaken by Charles Leclerc at the restart, he was then challenged by Russell. Verstappen initially held the position at Turn 1 but was subsequently instructed by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, to yield the place. While appearing to comply with the team's request, Verstappen then made contact with Russell. The stewards deemed the Red Bull driver predominantly at fault, leading to the penalty that dropped him further down the order from a potential podium finish. Prior to Horner's confirmation, Verstappen had commented on social media stating the clash "should not have happened" but had not issued a formal public apology. Horner's remarks, however, indicate a direct admission of fault within the team environment. Reflecting on the race outcome, Horner expressed frustration that the team didn't achieve more from the Spanish weekend. He stated that the aggressive three-stop strategy was, in his view, the optimal approach and would have positioned Verstappen closer to the front had it not been for the ill-timed Safety Car deployment. This Safety Car, he noted, also negatively affected the race of Yuki Tsunoda. Despite the difficult result, Horner affirmed that the team is focused on understanding the weekend's challenges and working on car setup improvements ahead of the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. The incident with Russell capped a frustrating race for Red Bull, turning what was shaping up to be a strong points finish into a disappointing outcome affected both by external factors and driver error.