F1 drivers Urges Disqualification After Verstappen-Ru….read more
Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg has called for Max Verstappen to be disqualified from the Spanish Grand Prix following a controversial incident with Mercedes driver George Russell. The clash unfolded after a safety car restart and has sparked significant debate in the F1 community.
The drama began shortly after the restart, when Verstappen and Russell collided at Turn 1. The contact prompted Red Bull to instruct Verstappen to yield the position to Russell to avoid further penalty. However, Verstappen appeared to take issue with the call. As he seemed to slow down to let Russell pass, Verstappen veered into the Mercedes car again before accelerating away, maintaining his track position. The tension between the two drivers escalated, leading to a second collision within just a few laps.
Eventually, Verstappen did concede the position to Russell, but the stewards still handed him a 10-second time penalty after the race for his actions. The penalty dropped Verstappen from fifth to tenth place in the final standings, significantly impacting his championship hopes.
Nico Rosberg, speaking during the live Sky Sports F1 broadcast, expressed outrage at Verstappen’s conduct. “Wow, that’s bad, bad, bad,” Rosberg said. “He just rammed him full on. You need to black flag him.” He suggested that Verstappen’s actions looked like deliberate retaliation and believed a disqualification was the appropriate punishment.
Rosberg further criticized the 10-second penalty as too lenient, referencing a previous incident between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in Baku 2017 to highlight what he saw as inconsistency in stewarding. “That’s a very lenient one from my point of view,” he added.
The fallout from the clash has had serious implications for Verstappen’s title challenge. With Oscar Piastri securing victory and Lando Norris finishing second, Verstappen’s demotion to tenth sees him fall 49 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ championship standings. The Dutchman’s pursuit of a fifth consecutive world title is now under threat.
Moreover, Verstappen’s aggressive move has added to his tally of penalty points within a 12-month period, bringing him closer to a potential one-race ban — a rare and serious sanction in F1.
Rosberg didn’t hold back in his post-race assessment, stating: “It looked like a very intentional retaliation. If you wait for your opponent and then go ramming into him, just because you feel wronged, that’s completely unacceptable. That’s a black flag offense.”
The controversy has reignited discussions about sportsmanship, stewarding consistency, and the pressures mounting on drivers in high-stakes cham
pionship battles.
