New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Defending Drivers Champions Max Verstappen was in the spotlight after his Red Bull came in contact with the Mercedes of George Russell during the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.

What seemed to be a lacklustre race was completely changed when Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire following a power unit issue, bringing a safety car into place.

Verstappen, who was on a three-stop strategy, came into the pit for a fourth time during the safety car but had to come out on hard compound tyres. He was overtaken instantly by Charles Leclerc at the restart and made contact with Russell, which forced the Dutch driver to leave the track and rejoin ahead of the British driver.

When asked by his team to give Russell the position back, Verstappen was livid on the team radio and once again made contact with the Mercedes.

“We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, [until] the Safety Car came out. Our tyre choice at the end and some moves after the [Safety Car] restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.

“I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal,” Verstappen posted on Instagram.

Verstappen was handed the three penalty points for the crash, which saw him finish 10th, which moved the Dutchman to 11 penalty points – one point away from a ban. The points accrue across a rolling 12-month period, with none coming off Verstappen’s tally until the end of June. Before that date, Verstappen must negotiate both the Canadian Grand Prix and Red Bull’s home race in Austria.

Team boss Christian Horner admitted Verstappen needs to keep his nose clean, in order to avoid the race ban.

“You can never guarantee anything. He’s just got to keep his nose clean in the next couple of races. Then the first points come off at the end of June,” said Horner after the race.

–IANS

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