Max Verstappen has worked hard to throw off a reputation for being reckless and indeed dangerous at times on track. Efforts that were left sorely damaged after he displayed a moment of anger at the Spanish Grand Prix that tarnished his standing as both a four-time champion and an enormously accomplished driver, quite apart from potentially costing him the world championship.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won at the Circuit de Barcelona‑Catalunya with an accomplished drive from pole, beating his teammate Lando Norris into second place and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into third. Yet it was Verstappen’s moment of ill-judged anger for which the race will be remembered and which will not be forgotten when the Dutchman’s legacy comes to be considered.
The moment itself, after Verstappen had been instructed to give a place back to Mercedes’ George Russell after a late safety car had led the two to make contact on the restart at turn one, was over in the blink of an eye. Verstappen, clearly furious at a series of events since the restart, moved over then, as Russell went past, apparently accelerated deliberately into the side of the Mercedes.
He was swiftly given a 10‑second penalty, demoting him from fifth over the line to 10th, when at one point a podium place might have been a possibility. The defending champion has been admirably clinging on to the title fight thus far but this has cost him dearly.
Piastri has extended his lead over Norris to 10 points but Verstappen is now 49 behind, losing almost the equivalent of a DNF in one fell swoop in Barcelona. Moreover, with three penalty points applied to his licence, he is now only one short of receiving a one-race ban.
Verstappen was in no mood to discuss it afterwards, bluntly blanking questions on the subject but notably not choosing to deny it had been deliberate, his only response a somewhat confrontational: “Does it matter?”
Yet despite the circumstances it still seems an extraordinary deed from a four-time champion and perhaps reflects how frustrated he is with his uncompetitive Red Bull this season. Certainly he indicated that was at least partly behind it. Others, however, might posit that Verstappen does not react well when he is under the cosh, as he is this season and as he was in 2021 against Lewis Hamilton.
It was all the more shocking in that up until that point Red Bull and Verstappen really had done a superb job to maximise their chances against the McLarens which clearly had a pace advantage, only for it to fall apart in under a single lap.
Having taken an alternate three‑stop strategy Verstappen was right in the mix when the safety car was called. The leaders all promptly went into the pits for fresh rubber but Red Bull’s strategy had left Verstappen with only the slower hard tyres left, while those around him all had the softs. From whence the dominos began to fall.
Piastri held his lead from the restart but Leclerc pounced on Verstappen who almost completely lost the rear as he came out of the final corner, the hard tyre so slow to come up to temperature.
He and Leclerc then touched on the straight, with the Dutchman furious, believing he had been deliberately pushed aside by the Ferrari. Yet there was barely time for him to vocalise his discontent as Russell dived up the inside. They too touched and Verstappen had to go off wide.
In doing so he held his place and three laps later the team, fearful that he had maintained it by going off track, ordered him to give it back. Which once more prompted an angry reaction from their driver, who has made his frustration with what he believes are overprescriptive overtaking regulations clear in the past, and that was the indignation he carried as he went into turn five with Russell and clattered into him.
In a decision that will have no doubt infuriated Verstappen even more, the stewards later concluded that they would not have made him give Russell the place back. They did, however, conclude that Verstappen was without doubt at fault. “Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63,” their statement read. “The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1.”
Many, including the former world champion Nico Rosberg, considered Verstappen was lucky not to have been disqualified.
As a younger driver Verstappen was accused of being impetuous and overly aggressive. His change of line at high speed on Kimi Räikkönen at Spa in 2016 was an incident that attracted widespread criticism. Yet he has matured enormously since then and while he remains an elbows‑out aggressive driver, it has been considered uncompromising but just pushing the boundaries of the regulations, the “Mad Max” of old believed to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Equally it is impossible to ignore the moments of sheer brilliance he has displayed, not least his pass for the lead at Imola just two weeks ago. A contradiction writ large then, in driving that was in such stark contrast to the inflammable, almost inexplicable decision-making in Spain and it was telling afterwards that he did make the point that the drop of points might be an irrelevance because he believes the car is too slow to fight for the title.
However, even if that is the case and given all the frustration that goes with it, Verstappen let his control slip in Spain and with it no little of the esteem he has built up in recent years.
