- Russell was speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal
George Russell claimed Max Verstappen tried to ‘scare’ him but failed when they collided in Spain last week, and added that the Dutchman would deserve a ban if tried it again.
Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty and three penalty points for his hot-headed move into the British driver at 140mph.
The quadruple world champion was angry at being asked by his Red Bull team – incorrectly as the stewards deemed – to hand back his place to Russell after an earlier skirmish. They made contact, in a move he later took responsibility for, towards the end of the race in Barcelona.
Verstappen finished 10th, after his punishment was calculated, and Russell fourth.
Yesterday in Montreal ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Russell said: ‘I think he was trying to run me off the road, but I don’t believe he was trying intentionally to crash into me.
‘I think he wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it.
Max Verstappen (right) and George Russell (left) collided during Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix
Russell on Thursday said Verstappen was trying to ‘scare’ him with the manoeuvre
‘It wasn’t going to scare me. It was just all a bit surprising.’
Verstappen would receive a one-race ban if he landed another point on his licence, to go from 11 to 12 points or beyond, in the next few weeks. Only Kevin Magnussen has ever previously been banned.
Russell said: ‘That’s why you’ve got the penalty points there – if you keep driving recklessly, you’ll get a race ban. You’ve got that in your own hands and it doesn’t go without risk.
‘If he gets his 12 points it wouldn’t be unjust.’
