Overview

• Stewards hit Verstappen with a 10-second penalty and three superlicence points for running into George Russell during a safety car restart at the Spanish Grand Prix.
• The sanction dropped him from fifth to tenth place and raised his total to 11 penalty points, one short of the 12-point threshold for a one-race ban.
• Verstappen said on social media that tyre strategy and safety car frustrations led to a “move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.”
• Russell and pundits including Nico Rosberg condemned the clash as deliberate, with Rosberg arguing it merited disqualification.
• Verstappen now faces high stakes in the upcoming Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix as he works to keep his licence clear.