Nico Rosberg believes Max Verstappen should have been disqualified from the Spanish Grand Prix after a late collision with George Russell.
A late safety car threw the result into chaos, with Verstappen struggling at the restart on hard tyres, with those around him on quicker, soft tyres.
Having lost third place to Charles Leclerc, Verstappen was then told by his engineer to give fourth place to Russell after the pair made contact at turn 1. Yet when the Dutchman seemed to let his arch-rival through, the Red Bull driver swerved aggressively into the Briton’s car.
The pair made contact, but a matter of seconds later, Russell did take fourth place. The Brit commented: “What the f***!”
On commentary duties for Sky Sports F1, 2016 F1 world champion Rosberg said of Verstappen’s manoeuvre: “That is bad, that is seriously bad.
“You need to black flag [disqualify] that, there's no other way.”
Instead, the stewards decided to impose a 10-second time penalty on Verstappen, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th in the final standings.
Elaborating further after the race, Rosberg added: “It looked like a retaliation, ramming into the opponent. That’s something that is extremely unacceptable, that’s why I said black flag.”
Verstappen is also under investigation post-race for brief contact made with Leclerc down the main straight after the safety car restart.
Verstappen and Russell were embroiled in a bitter feud at the end of last year, after an incident in Qatar in December, with both taking shots at the other on media day in Abu Dhabi.
Of Sunday’s incident in Barcelona, Russell remarked: “I’ve seen those manoeuvres before in simulators and go-karting, not in Formula 1.
“I’m in P4, he’s P10 - I don’t know what’s going through his mind, it felt deliberate in the moment, it felt surprising.
Max Verstappen is told to let George Russell through and then the two collide! 😲 pic.twitter.com/SpNBwLoGaj
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 1, 2025
“I’m not going to give it any thought, we have our problems. It’s down to the stewards to decide if it was deliberate or not, Max is such an amazing driver, so many people look up to him, it seems completely unnecessary.
“I’m too close to give my opinion on behalf of the drivers but, in Austin last year, he did some of the best moves ever. Then Mexico, he let’s himself down a bit. Imola, one of the best moves, and then this happens. It cost him and his team a lot of points.
“I’m not going to lose sleep, we’ve got our own issues to deal with.”
Oscar Piastri won the race in Barcelona from pole, with Lando Norris securing a one-two finish for McLaren and Leclerc finishing in third.
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