Footage exhibits Verstappen broke little recognized rule and will have gotten race ban

George Russell is loving life trolling Max Verstappen, however his newest try may have had penalties.

The Mercedes driver gained the Canadian Grand Prix forward of the four-time champion who he’s repeatedly clashed with over time.

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Within the earlier race in Spain, Verstappen was punished for deliberately driving into his rival, taking his penalty level complete as much as 11 for the 12 months, with only one extra leading to a race ban.

When he and Russell lined up first and second in qualifying on Saturday, the Brit joked he had ‘extra penalty factors to play with’ forward of their duel, winding up Verstappen.

But as Sunday’s race unfolded, the pair saved issues clear, up till the closing laps.

With three laps to go Lando Norris crashed out making an attempt to overhaul McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and the race was put behind a security automotive.

With Russell in first and Verstappen behind him, the pair momentarily swapped locations, and immediately gave a differing model of occasions.

“Verstappen simply overtook me below the protection automotive,” stated Russell.

Whereas the Dutchman instructed his workforce: “George all of the sudden simply aggressively braked.”

Guidelines from Formulation 1’s governing physique, the FIA, state that overtaking below the protection automotive isn’t allowed with each legal guidelines 49.5 and 58.12 making it clear.

Exceptions such because the automotive in entrance being delayed or having an ‘apparent downside’ are listed as caveats, however this was clearly not the case, that means Verstappen may have dedicated a breach.

Ought to the FIA have dealt a punishment, a time penalty would have added factors to his licence, ruling him out of the following race – the Austrian Grand Prix.

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Not solely is that occasion a house race as Pink Bull are Austrian, but it surely additionally sees floods of Dutch followers head down wearing orange.

But because it transpired, Pink Bull had been as a substitute those making an attempt to get a penalty for Russell.

The workforce appealed to the FIA stewards post-race citing rule 33.4 which says: “No automotive could also be pushed unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a way which may very well be deemed probably harmful to different drivers or another individual at any time while the protection automotive is deployed.”

The FIA cleared Russell of any ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ and his race win was ratified, however the second was simply one other chapter within the pair’s ongoing and more and more vitriolic rivalry.

In 2023 when Verstappen was profitable nearly each weekend, Russell tried an audacious transfer in Azerbaijan and the pair each obtained injury.

Cameras picked them up getting heated post-race, with Verstappen calling his rival a ‘d***head’.

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Issues continued to simmer up till Qatar 2024 after they exploded within the media.

Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty for impeding Russell throughout qualifying and later got here out swinging in a press convention.

He referred to as the Brit ‘two-faced’ and stated that he’d ‘misplaced all respect’ for his rival, alleging he tried to control the stewards right into a penalty.

Russell responded by calling the four-time champion a ‘bully’ including: “He was purposely going to exit of his method to crash into me and, quote, ‘put me on my f***ing head within the wall’.”

Their fractures resulted in a frosty reception at an finish of season dinner and later jokes on the O2 launch occasion for the 2025 season in London.

Now with their automobiles sharing the identical tarmac frequently, followers look set for much more of the rivalry, and with Verstappen needing to maintain out of bother to stage his title struggle, it’s clear who’s having fun with the toing and froing extra.